Malcolm Harvey Lathan, Jr.

Malcolm Harvey Lathan, Jr. July 31, 1948 – June 10, 2015 Malcolm “Mac” Harvey Lathan Jr. passed away peacefully at home in Wilson, on June 10th, 2015. He passed away in the company of his wife, his daughter and son, his three grandchildren and other extended family members. Mac is survived by his wife of forty years, Linda Lathan; his children, Covey Denton and Cody Lathan; his sister, Elizabeth Carruthers; and his grandchildren, Elijah, Lydia and Bethany. He is preceded in death by his parents, Julia Diggs Lathan and Malcolm Harvey Lathan Sr. of Pinebluff, and his son, Timothy Trent Lane. Mac was born on July 31, 1948 in Pinebluff, to Malcolm Harvey Lathan and Julia Diggs Lathan. He graduated from Abderdeen High School in 1966 and went on to study business at UNC. In 1970 he graduated UNC and went on to earn a MBA at Duke in 1973. He married his beautiful wife, Linda, in 1975. With her loving support he went on to earn a PhD from UNC Chapel Hill in accounting in 1980. After moving to Charlottesville in 1982, Mac began working for the University of Virginia as a professor in the School of Commerce. After 26 years of dealing with snow and ice in the mountains of Virginia, Mac and Linda decided to move to Eastern North Carolina in 2007, five minutes from their beloved grandchildren and a mere two hours from the beach. Mac divided his time between doting on family, teaching at ECU as an adjunct professor in the Business School and spending as much time as possible at the beach. Teaching was one of Mac’s true passions. He is remembered by students fondly as the Hawaiian Shirt wearing, Far Side Cartooning, Jimmy Buffet fan that he was. His teaching adventures led him around the globe allowing him to visit Abu Dhabi, Jordan and other places most of us only dream of going. Mac was a loving husband who loved a reason to celebrate. Anniversaries, birthdays, special events, all were a great reason to shower his lovely wife with a trip, a bit of jewelry or a love letter hidden inside a card. As husband and wife, Mac and Linda were able to ride their motorcycles from Delaware to Florida, stopping to climb every lighthouse on the way. They shared adventures to Hawaii, the Florida Keys and many others. One of their favorite getaways were weekends where they could steal away to Morehead City and spend their mornings sipping coffee and watching the sunrise over the Sound and spending their days with their toes in the sand. Mac was a wonderful father—sharing his son’s passion for motorcycles, music, beer and the ocean. He loved to talk books with his daughter and made sure that she knew that he “loved her the most” every single time they parted ways. One of his greatest accomplishments was his title of “Grampy.” He earned that title and often ended up wearing makeup and tiaras, playing endless games of play-dough and Pokémon, and spending time with his grandkids. He taught them to love the ocean and the “quiet sea,” helped his grandson catch his first fish. He took them all on their first motorcycle ride, first boat ride and first lighthouse climb. Friends and family are invited to attend a Hawaiian themed memorial service at Joyner’s Funeral Home, 4100 Raleigh Road Parkway, Wilson, 2 p.m. Saturday, June 13, 2015. He was a beach lover at heart, and we would like to honor that. Please wear your favorite Hawaiian shirt/dress for the occasion. In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to the Save the Morris Island Lighthouse, savethelight.org. Condolences may be directed to www.joyners.net.