[2] He left home at 13, and lying about his age, joined the U.S. Marines at 15, serving 38 months in the South Pacific during World War II.
On his return he moved to Reno, Nevada, where he worked as a casino cashier.
[1] Latendresse established the first experimental U.S. freshwater cultured pearl farm in Tennessee in 1963 which unfortunately was unsuccessful[3] however it became the foundation of the U.S. freshwater cultured pearl industry.
[2] Latendresse also developed the technique for producing shaped pearls, which he called "fancishapes", which today are used by the American Pearl Company to produce shapes including coin, bar, navette, marquise, teardrop, cabochon and triangle.
[6] The Tennessee River Pearl Farm has since been featured in a variety of national publications and television broadcasts including National Geographic (August 1985),[5] Southern Living Magazine,[7] Forbes (August 6, 1990),[7] Audubon (March 1985),[7] Smithsonian (Jan 1998),[7] Town & Country (Dec 2002),[7] National Geographic video - Splendid Stones (1991)[citation needed] and Sunday Morning News with Charles Osgood (Feb 2002).