Latimer remembered in EMCC Sports Hall of Fame

Latimer remembered in EMCC Sports Hall of Fame

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Ikeler Montgomery “Boy” Latimer, a longtime educator in Neshoba County, was remembered last year for his football and basketball skills while playing 80 years ago at East Mississippi Junior College in Scooba.

Latimer is a member of the East Mississippi Community College Sports Hall of Fame, being inducted posthumously last year in the 2019 class.

Following graduation from high school, Latimer worked four years in the Civilian Conservation Corps, a public work relief program founded by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933 that gave millions of young men employment on environmental projects during the Great Depression.

With valuable work experience in hand, Latimer started his college education on the Scooba campus in 1935, where he lettered on the gridiron for Coach Raymond Casper and on the hardwood for Coach L.A. Bass.  A tribute to his leadership abilities, Latimer served as team captain for East Mississippi’s basketball team and was named president of the college’s “S” Club student organization.

Latimer then continued his college education at nearby Mississippi State in 1939, majoring in agriculture.  Following graduation, he put his degree to good use and began working for the United States Soil Conservation Service in Heflin, Alabama.  He also married the love of his life, Louise Land, in 1942 before enlisting in the United States Army a year later during World War II. As one of seven children (six sons and a daughter) raised by parents Levi and Grace Latimer and who all served in the United States Armed Forces, Latimer was a sergeant with the 3860th Service Co. at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana until 1945.  

Following his service, Latimer and his wife returned home to Neshoba County and both began teaching at Arlington School.  After teaching agriculture for six years, he was elected as the Neshoba County Superintendent of Education in 1952 and served a pair of four-year terms.

Latimer then retired from public education to work as a self-employed cattle farmer. His prowess in breeding Polled Hereford cattle was featured in the 1957-58 Mississippi Cattlemen’s Association directory.  In addition, Latimer’s love for dogs and skill in the sport of fox hunting also earned him recognition in a 1957 edition of Chase magazine.

Both long-time members of First Baptist Church in Philadelphia, Latimer, who passed away in 1987 at the age of 77, and his late wife are survived by sons Ike Land Latimer and William Latimer, both of Philadelphia, and daughter Nan Norton, of Alexander, Louisiana. The Latimers are also survived by three grandchildren, Spence Latimer, Chad Norton and Elizabeth Land Lesley.






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