Dr. Gene Lata 1922-2002

LATA, GRECO

Posted By: Lori Clark (email)
Date: 12/3/2002 at 08:45:23

Gay & Ciha Funeral & Cremation Service– Iowa City – (319) 338-1132
2720 Muscatine Avenue, Iowa City, Iowa 52240

Iowa City Press-Citizen –Picture-paid
Cedar Rapids Gazette-Picture-Paid

Gene F. Lata, age 80 of 719 8th. Avenue, Coralville died Sunday, December
1, 2002 at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics following an
extended illness.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m., Friday, December 6, 2002 at
St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Iowa City with the Reverend Walter Helms
officiating. Burial will be at St. Joseph Cemetery in Iowa City.
Visitation will be from 4 to 7 pm Thursday at Gay & Ciha Funeral and
Cremation Service in Iowa City, and after 9:30 a.m. Friday until services
at the church. Memorial contributions or contributions in lieu of flowers
may be sent to the Department of Biochemistry Fund for Undergraduate
Scholarships, c/o the University Iowa Foundation.

Dr. Lata was born May 17, 1922 in New York City, New York, the son of Louis
F. and Cesira (Greco) Lata. He graduated from the City College of New
York, and received his PhD. in Biochemistry from the University of Illinois
in Champaign. During WWII, he served in the United States Army in France.
On June 16, 1951, he married Lila Marie Bergman in Maywood, IL. He had been
a Professor of Biochemistry with the University of Iowa from 1950 through
1992 when he retired as Professor Emeritus.

Gene was a member of St. Thomas More Catholic Church, American Society of
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, American Chemical Society, American
Association for the Advancement of Science, Iowa Academy and New York
Academy Association of Science, Alpha Chi Sigma, Sigma XI, an active member
of the Democratic Party, and Toastmasters International. Dr. Lata was
active in the Iowa Democratic Party and the Sierra Club. He enjoyed
photography and traveling and participated in the Retired Senior Volunteer
Partner in Reading program.

His children include three sons: Paul and his wife Laurie of Marinette,
Wisconsin, Matthew and his wife Phyllis Pancella of Tallahassee, Florida;
Thomas of Columbia, Missouri; and two daughters: Catherine and her
husband, Roger Manka of Anchorage, Alaska, and Mary and her husband, Jerome
Vogel of Chadron, Nebraska. He is also survived by his sister Evangeline
Lata of New York City. He enjoyed his grandchildren, Nathaniel, Dov, Louis,
Tony, and Andy.

He was preceded in death by his parents, and his brother, John Lata.