Latice Veneé Gooden Gaines was born Aug. 13, 1963, in Independence. A resident of San Antonio, and a longtime resident of Baton Rouge, Latice was a gentle spirit who loved and valued family. Her beautiful smile and great sense of humor were treasures to those who knew her. Her untimely death occurred on Nov. 27, shortly after arriving in Baton Rouge to celebrate Thanksgiving with her family. She was the oldest of two siblings and was educated in the East Baton Rouge Parish school system and Southern University Laboratory School, from which she was a 1982 graduate. She furthered her education at Southern University in Baton Rouge. She was baptized by the late J.R. Williams at Elm Grove Baptist Church and attended church on a regular basis in her young adulthood. She attended Cornerstone Ministries in San Antonio. Latice leaves to mourn her husband of 21 years, Danny Gaines, a son, Kendrick, and a daughter, Kayla, all of San Antonio; mother, Willie Mae Lathan, of Baton Rouge; father, Joseph West, of Seattle; a brother, Keedrick Troy Thomas, of Baton Rouge; grandfather, the Rev. Willie Gooden, of Baton Rouge; mother-in-law and father-in-law, Susie and Golia Gaines, of Monroe; five aunts, Patricia Dunn, of Baton Rouge, Thelemese Porter, of Zachary, Elaria Simms, of Mason, Ohio, Melissa Bolden, of Fuqua Varina, N.C., and Jacqueline Watson, of Atlanta; and four uncles, Robert T. Porter, Mark Gooden and Arthur R. Dunn, all of Baton Rouge, and Tyrone Willis, Lubbock, Texas. Preceded in death by her maternal grandmothers, Thelma Gooden Atkins and Ernestine Gooden, and a godchild, Nicholas Dunn. Funeral service at Winnfield Funeral Home, 7221 Plank Road, at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 2. To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Latice Gooden Gaines, please visit our floral store.