November 18, 1932-March 15, 2024
George Webster Latimer, Jr., a Fellow of AOAC (1997) and a long-time member, passed away on March 15, 2024. He was 92 years old.
Latimer retired from the Office of the Texas State Chemist, an agency of Texas A&M University, in August 2004 after 18 years of service. With his regulatory and chemistry experience, his work focused on agriculture, feed, fertilizer, and heavy metals. He was also a retired colonel in the Air Force Reserves, where he served for 30 years after active duty.
A member of AOAC since 1984, Latimer served in several volunteer roles, perhaps most notably as editor of the Official Methods of AnalysisSM compendium since the 19th edition in 2012. In this role, he also assisted users with technical questions regarding AOAC Official MethodsSM. In 2022, Latimer retired as editor for the “Statistical Analysis and Chemometric Methods” section of the Journal of AOAC INTERNATIONAL after 23 years of service.
He was integral to the development of the AOAC Technical Division for Laboratory Management and served on its board of directors from 1996 to 2002. Latimer was a member of the AOAC Official Methods Board; Agricultural Materials Task Force; Methods Committee on Commodity Foods and Commodity Products; Methods Committee on Feeds, Fertilizers, and Related Agricultural Products; and Nominations Subcommittee. He was past president of the AOAC Southwest Section from 1989 to 1990.
AOAC thanks Latimer for his commitment and many years of service to the Association. He will be greatly missed by friends and colleagues at AOAC INTERNATIONAL.
