Latha Thurston Porter, 77, of Surfside Beach, SC, passed away in the comfort of his home on the 16th of April, 2025 following a courageous battle with leukemia. He was surrounded by family in his final moments.

Latha was born in Louisville, KY on January 30, 1948 at the Porter family farm. He was the oldest child of William Thurston Porter and Natalie Schmidt Porter. His parents moved the family to Salem, VA where he attended Andrew Lewis High School. He joined the U.S. Army where he served as a MP. When visiting home from basic training, he met the love of his life Lynn Fisher Wade. Latha and Lynn wed on June 18th, 1970, and had been married for 54 years when he passed.

Latha was preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by his wife, Lynn; his son, Christopher Michael Porter (Victoria); grandsons, Connor Micheal Porter, Samuel Christopher Porter; his brother and sisters, Kathleen Porter Manning, Renee Porter (Krys), Melissa Porter; and numerous other family members and friends. He was loving known as Papa Latha to many.

Latha lived and raised his family in Atlanta, Georgia. He worked there as a structural steel detailer and estimator. He enjoyed many sports during his life, including football, basketball, SCUBA, golf and especially tennis. He was active for many years in the Atlanta Lawn and Tennis Association and was very proud of his numerus tennis awards and trophies. He always enjoyed sitting around the table playing games of cards, Mexican Train Dominos, or Joker with friends and family.

In 2016, Latha and Lynn retired to permanently live “the dream” in Surfside Beach, SC. They lived next door to their life long friends John and Pat Coffey. Together with John and Pat, they enjoyed hosting friends and family at their beach house creating many wonderful memories.

While in Surfside, Latha started playing golf more regularly and was happy spending time out on the greens. Latha and Lynn bought an Air Stream and made many happy memories traveling around the country. They made many wonderful friends in the Air Stream clubs they joined and were both active for many years with the Costal Carolina chapter and well as the Low Country chapter.

Latha will be missed by many, but wants to remind them that, “It’s not goodbye, it’s see you later”.

Latha’s family will announce a celebration of his life at a future date.

To send flowers to the family, please visit our floral store.