James L. Latchum ’40

With some sort of prescience, we called him "Colonel" and that, among many other titles, was one Jim Latchum attained before his death Jan. 31, 2004.

He prepared at Peddie School, was a politics major at Princeton, and graduated cum laude. The Colonel was a member of Whig Hall and Campus Club, and was a Student Agency manager. He graduated second in his class from U. Va. Law School in 1946, where he was an editorial board member of the Virginia Law Review.

During WWII, Colonel served in the US and the Pacific, leaving as an Army major. As a reservist, he taught military law until 1961, retiring as a lieutenant colonel.

From 1955-68, he was a partner in Potter, Anderson and Caroon. In 1968, Pres. Johnson nominated Colonel for appointment to the US District Court for Delaware. He later became the chief judge and then senior judge. His list of state and national commission and bar association memberships would fill several paragraphs.

Those of us who knew Colonel well remember the twinkle in his eyes as he told one of his wealth of humorous stories. He was predeceased by daughter Su-Allan Lopez. To his wife of 60 years, Elizabeth Murray McArthur Latchum, and his daughter Beth, his classmates extend sincere condolences.

The Class of 1940