HARRISONBURG, Va. -- D. Lathan Mims, retired editor of the Harrisonburg Daily News-Record and adviser and confidant to two former Virginia governors and former Sen. Harry Byrd Jr., died of a heart attack.
The native of Sumter, S.C., Mims died Thursday.
He was 70.
Under Mims' leadership, the Harrisonburg newspaper twice won the Virginia Press Association's Copeland Award for outstanding community service.
Mims was a former president of the Virginia Press Association who also made his mark in politics.
Mims came to Virginia in 1956 to head the Harrisonburg newspaper, which is owned by the Byrd family.
He managed Byrd's 1966 Democratic Senate campaign and ran the senator's re-election bids in 1970 and 1976 when he campaigned as an independent.
Mims was active in the second campaign of Gov. Mills Godwin, who appointed him to the Virginia Port Authority. He was also active in the campaign of Godwin's successor, John Dalton.
'He was a very astute observer of political feelings and trends,' said Godwin. 'I trusted his judgment, as did many other Virginians.'
Byrd said he was 'deeply distressed' by the death of Mims.
'Lathan Mims was one of the finest persons I have ever known,' said Byrd.
'We worked closely together for more than a quarter of a century. He was a dear and cherished friend who contributed much to the progress and welfare of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County and, indeed, to the entire state of Virginia,' said Byrd.
