David George was born in Toledo, Ohio, on August 7, 1935, to Lynn Howard Latta (1900-1984) and Frances Rosalia (Price) Latta (1906-2003).[1] He may have been named after his mother's father, David Manly Price (1869-1927) His middle name is the surname of his Welsh great-grandfather, Edward George (1828-1895). He was an orthopedic surgeon in Santa Barbara, California.
When David was four years old he lived with his parents and brother, Robert Latta M.D., then two, in Chicago, Illinois, in 1940. [2] At the time he father worked as a patent lawyer for Borg Warner and his mother, an organist and piano teacher, was at home taking care of her children.
David's father had set up his own office on Westwood Boulevard in Brentwood and bought a house at 12291 San Vicente Avenue, Santa Monica, Los Angeles before May, 1950, when the U.S. Census enumerated the family. His parents attended the Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Burbank. David was 12 years old then.[3] [4]
David married his high school sweetheart, Joan Margaret (Hanson) Latta (1935-1990) on June 19, 1957 in Glendale, California.[5] The reception was held in the gardens of the bride's family home.[6]
David George Latta considered practicing law like his father but decided to go into medicine after studying for a year at the University of Southern California School of Law. He graduated from Loma Linda University School of Medicine on June 1, 1963, and earned his Physicians and Surgeon's Certificate from the Board of Medical Examiners of the State of California on July 1, 1964. He was Resident physician in Orthopedic Surgery at the University of Southern California from July 1, 1964 to May 1, 1966, and from July 1, 1969 to June 30, 1970.
David George Latta was drafted into the the US Army in January 1966 and trained at Ft. San Housten, Texas. In late June, 1966, he and his family sailed aboard the USNS Buckner to Europe en route to Augsburg, Germany, where he was stationed for three years. He served as a commissioned officer with the final rank of major at the 30th Field Hospital on the US Army Base in Augsburg from 1966 to 1969. He gained invaluable experience and distinguished himself as a skilled surgeon while in Augsburg
David George Latta and his family lived briefly in Glendale and Downey, California, after returning to the States. He joined a medical practice in Santa Barbara as an orthopedic surgeon in 1970.
David Latta was a pioneer in sports medicine and one of the first surgeons to perform a total knee operation in the United States. He frequently donated his time and services to sports teams in Santa Barbara high schools and colleges, including the University of California, Santa Barbara.
The Regents of the American College of Surgeons admitted him as a Fellow on 24 Oct 1974. The American Orthopedic Society of Sports Medicine elected him a active member on July 23, 1984.
An expert downhill skier and sailor, David volunteered as a team doctor for the U.S. Ski Team for many years and also served as a medical director for the 1984 Olympics at Lake Casitas, California. He was elected Commodore of the Santa Barbara Yacht Club in 1980 and belonged to the Rotary Club of Santa Barbara. He passed away on January 10, 2007, in Boise, Idaho.
This week's featured connections are Acadians: David is 18 degrees from Joseph Broussard, 19 degrees from Louis Hebert, 21 degrees from Antonine Maillet, 20 degrees from Roméo LeBlanc, 21 degrees from Aubin-Edmond Arsenault, 21 degrees from Louis Robichaud, 21 degrees from Cleoma Falcon, 22 degrees from Rhéal Cormier, 22 degrees from Jack Kerouac, 22 degrees from Maurice Richard, 23 degrees from Ron Guidry and 22 degrees from Beyoncé Knowles-Carter on our single family tree. Login to see how you relate to 33 million family members.
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Categories: Orthopedic Surgeons | Seventh-Day Adventists | Santa Barbara Cemetery, Santa Barbara, California