Serving West Michigan Since 1899

Richard "Dick" Ratcliff

April 2, 1931 - March 6, 2018
Holland, MI

//cdn.lifestorynet.com/obituaries/019/121172/121172-00.jpg



Visitation

Saturday, April 14, 2018
1:00 PM to 2:00 PM EDT
Dykstra Funeral Homes
Mulder Chapel
188 West 32nd Street
Holland, MI 49423
(616) 392-2348
Driving Directions

Service

Saturday, April 14, 2018
2:00 PM EDT
Dykstra Funeral Homes
Mulder Chapel
188 West 32nd Street
Holland, MI 49423
(616) 392-2348
Driving Directions

Contributions


At the family's request memorial contributions are to be made to those listed below. Please forward payment directly to the memorial of your choice.

Hospice of Holland
270 Hoover Blvd
Holland, MI 49423
(616) 396-2972
Driving Directions
Web Site

Life Story / Obituary


Print

Richard S. Ratcliff died on March 6th, 2018 in Holland, Michigan just shy of his 87th birthday. His wife of 62 years, Patty Cullen Ratcliff, noted that it was just like Dick to figure out how to best exit this world: in his sleep, with Patty by his side. A memorial service will be held on April 14th at the Dykstra Funeral Home Mulder chapel in Holland, Michigan. Visitation will begin at 1PM followed by a 2PM service.

A native of Oak Park and River Forest, Illinois, Dick graduated from Oak Park High in 1948. In high school, he developed his love of language and writing and excelled in athletic activity, winning an award his senior year for best defensive guard in Cook County. He went to University of Michigan on a football scholarship and stayed for 7 years, earning a B.A. in Economics and a J.D. and developing what would become a life long dedication to the Wolverines.

Dick met Patty Cullen on spring break in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. They grew up three blocks from each other and were two years apart at Oak Park High School, but did not meet until Dick was in law school and Patty was teaching in Indianapolis. They married on April 14, 1956. Dick served in the U.S. Army from 1956-1959, attaining rank of 1st Lt. in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps, and the newlyweds lived in Virginia and California during this time.

In 1959 they returned to their roots in the Chicago area, settling in Oak Park, and later River Forest. Dick joined the law firm of Keck, Chushman, Mahin & Cate and was made partner in 1968. His practice focused on general corporate law, with an emphasis on labor law. In the last years of his professional career he was the Village Attorney of River Forest.

Among his many civic activities, he served as President of the River Forest PTA, Director of the River Forest Service Club, President of the Oak Park and River Forest Community Chest, and board member of Oak Park and River Forest High School. The Ratcliffs were members of the First United Church in Oak Park where Dick served as a Deacon.

Dick and Patty owned a home on Lake Michigan near Macatawa, and moved there after retirement. For many years, they spent winters at their second home in Sarasota, Florida. In 2012 they moved to Freedom Village, a retirement home in Holland.

Dick was a thoughtful, intelligent, open minded and judicious person. He lived robustly, laughed heartily and loved deeply. He had Alzheimer’s disease in the last years of his life and retained his sense of humor and love of music until the end.

Preceding him in death were his parents, Kathryn and Elwood Ratcliff, and his older brother Robert Ratcliff.

He is survived by his wife Patty; their three children, Tom Ratcliff of Holland, Michigan, Kate Ratcliff of Marlboro, Vermont, and David Ratcliff of Muskegon, Michigan; three grandchildren, Patrick Schneeweis of Baltimore, Maryland, Michael Schneeweis of Boulder, Colorado, and Maxwell Ratcliff of Grandville, Michigan; and his sister Sandra Caswell of Hilton Head, North Carolina.

In lieu of flowers, gifts in Dick’s memory are suggested to Hospice of Holland, 270 Hoover Blvd. Holland, MI 49423