Obituary of Stephen M. Latocha

          Stephen M. Latocha, 65, of Holiday, Florida, formerly of Pompey, passed away Thursday. He was born in Syracuse, the son of Joseph and Helen Latocha and grew up in Pompey. Stephen graduated from Fabius Pompey High School in 1970 and enlisted into the U.S. Army. Upon his honorable discharge, Stephen studied computer technology at Clarkson University and graduated from Pennsylvania Gunsmith School in Pittsburgh. He was the owner and operator of Latocha’s Custom Gunsmithing for 15 years until his retirement in 1998. Stephen was a member of the V.F.W. Holiday Post 10167 Men’s Auxiliary and the American Legion in Pittsburgh. Stephen had a love for life and enjoyed meeting people, traveling and vacationing on cruise ships.
          Stephen is survived by his wife of 29 years, Debra Latocha; his son, Eric Schneider of Pittsburgh; his mother, Helen Latocha of Jamesville; a brother, Bob (Trish) Latocha of Spring Hill, FL; a sister, Mary (Gary) Reichel of Pompey; one granddaughter, Bailey Schneider of Pittsburgh; his father-in-law, Roger Gerth of Pittsburgh; two aunts, Dolores Dobrovech of Pompey and Henrietta “Hanky” Dobrovech of Fayetteville; a sister-in-law, Pam (Mike) Hundley of NM as well as several nieces, nephews and cousins. He was predeceased by his father, Joseph in 2003 and by his uncles, George and John Dobrovech.
          A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m., Wednesday, July 19, 2017 at Michael E. Brown Funeral Services, 2333 Fenner Rd., Cazenovia. Calling hours are 1 to 3 p.m. at the funeral home prior to the service. Contributions in memory of Mr. Latocha may be made to the Disabled American Veterans at www.dav.org.