Sunday, November 11, 2018
Condolences to the Latkany Family from IAABO Board #52 - Westchester County.
Bob was a member of our basketball referee's Board for 50 years. We celebrated that on March 20th of this year with our Brothers at our annual dinner. There were five of us that reached that plateau. Those of you that know Bob know he loves gatherings, or parties, or any kind of celebration. So when Bob found out that we were invited to IAABO'S spring meeting in Ocean City, MD he and Joe Levine thought it would be a great idea to attend. We would receive our award in person. Our Board supported our trip and since I was the youngest I became the designated driver. Two of the five had conflicts. The three of us spent six hours in the car and two and a half days telling "war stories" from yesteryear. History from our youth to the present day.
He was immensely proud of his family, children and grandchildren as well as Boston College.
We found out later that Bob - a world traveler - always kept a log or diary of his travels. This trip was no different. Bob had 20 questions of every aspect of our lives from birth to the present day. He sat in the back seat writing about each of us. When he found out my son was still single he immediately volunteered to find him a wife and wanted to be invited to the wedding! Bob called me in late September to tell he was still working on it! He also reminded me he wanted to referee some games with me this winter. Two OLD guys together!!!!
We will miss Bob as a Brother, but more importantly we will miss him as a loyal friend. May he Rest in Peace.
With warm regards, Phil DiRuocco, IAABO Board #52
