Brian Frederick Latonas

LATONAS
Brian Frederick
March 10, 1951 – Sept. 10, 2021

Cast your eyes on the ocean
Cast your soul to the sea
When the dark night seems endless
Please remember me….

(Dante’s Prayer, L. McKennit)

With broken hearts, the family of Brian Latonas announces his passing on September 10, 2021.
Brian has been described, by those who knew him, as an intelligent, kind and thoughtful man. He was devoted to his wife of 38 years (Wilma Haas) and to his proudest legacy, his children Sarah and Carl (Latonas).

Brian was born in Edson, grew up in Fort Frances, Ontario and spent most of his adult life in Edmonton. Brian was devoted to his career as a chartered psychologist providing counseling and related support services to families and individuals. Working with children was his particular strength and passion. His strong ethical and caring value system defined him in both his profession and his family life.

Brian loved the outdoors: Boating, hiking, camping and nature photography were all pursued with enthusiasm. He shared these interests (and many amusing stories of past adventures) with his family, both at the family cabin on Rainy Lake in NW Ontario and across Canada. As his children grew, Brian’s interests expanded to include their activities too, specifically ice sports, soccer and cycling in the Edmonton River Valley. That his role in these activities was often that of driver, sports photographer and #1 booster was fine with him. He just loved being there for and with his kids.

Brian and Wilma retired together in 2011 and spent the next 10 years fine-tuning their skills in ballroom and other forms of social dance and traveling. (Exploring his paternal roots in Lithuania was a particular travel highlight.) Too, retirement gave Brian the opportunity to more fully engage in his long-standing interests and hobbies (music and coin and stamp collecting principle among them).

In addition to his wife and children, Brian was survived by his mother (Kathleen) who sadly passed away on September 15th, just five days after Brian’s death. He is survived by his brother Graham (Sylvia) of Calgary, cousins Bob and John Jacobs and Christine (Eric) Wilson of Vancouver, and all of their families. He was preceded by his father (Peter). Brian always been grateful for the warm welcome he received and enjoyed from the extended Haas family. Brian will be dearly missed.

As per his wishes, Brian’s bodily remains have been cremated. A Celebration of Life and Interment of his ashes will take place in Edmonton at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Alberta Cancer Foundation (https://www.albertacancer.ca/donate/) or a charity meaningful to the donor.

The Latonas Family would like to thank Dr. Gushaty and the staff at the Cross Cancer Institute and the Grey Nuns Palliative Care Unit for the care and compassion shown to Brian during his illness.