Henry R. Latzke
July 3, 1931 – October 22, 2019
The funeral service will be held at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 1025 W. Lake Street, Melrose Park on Friday, November 1, 2019 at 11:00 a.m. with visitation prior, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. A luncheon will follow.
Henry R. Latzke was born July 3, 1931 in Janesville, Wisconsin, growing up in Pewaukee. After high school he attended the University of Wisconsin and worked as the distribution manager for the Milwaukee Journal in Kenosha. He served two years in the Marine Corps during the Korean War and then continued his ed-ucation at Concordia Teachers College in River Forest, Illinois, Western Reserve University School of Library Science in Cleveland, Ohio, and Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, where he received the Ed.D in educational technology.
On August 18, 1956, he married his college sweetheart, Laura Rahe of Cleveland, Ohio. Their union was blessed with three children, Steven (Kathie Schrader), Brenda (Joel Heinz), and Elaine (Rod Hackman). Seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren extended the family that he loved so much. Family get-togethers and celebrations were always important, but the small interactions with individuals from babies on up were special.
Henry served on the faculty of Alabama Lutheran Academy and College, Selma, Alabama (1956-58), Los Angeles Lutheran High School (1958-1960), and Concordia University (1960-1999) where he served as Director of Library and Media Services. He returned to Concordia March through October 2005 to cover a vacancy in the Director of Library Services position and facilitate the library remodeling project. You could say Selma was the “bookends of his career,” because in 2008 he returned there as librarian for three months to help with their accreditation process. However, he did work part time at the Maywood Public Library for several years thereafter.
Henry led a personal life that reflected his love for his Lord and Savior. He chaired and served on many boards and committees at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Melrose Park and taught 6th grade confirmation classes for 35 years. The Ellen Waldschmidt Award “for exemplary service and dedication to the cause of Lutheran education and the Lutheran Education Association” was given in recognition of his years of service and special responsibilities to that organization
Henry was at the forefront of interlibrary cooperation and digitizing the holdings records for on-line use. In recognition of this he received the Melvin R. George Award “for service to LIBRAS and the library community at large”. LIBRAS is only one of several library and audio-visual organizations in which he held leadership positions during his professional career: the Illinois Association for Educational Communications Technology, Phi Delta Kappa. He was an elected trustee of both the Melrose Park Library Board and of the Metropolitan Library Services Board.
In addition to gathering with family and friends, Henry always enjoyed attending exhibit and lectures at the Art Museum, the Chicago Symphony, movies, live theater, traveling, photography, canoeing, and gardening. His travels took him to all 50 states (often tent camping en-route), most Canadian provinces, and 29 other countries. He traveled to heaven on October 22, 2019.
Memorial suggestions:
Latzke Family Church Worker Scholarship Endowment
Concordia University Chicao, River Forest, Illinois
St. Paul Lutheran Church, Melrose Park, Illinois