John L. Ratke

John L. Ratke II (Larry)

May 10, 1953 – November 7, 2020

It is with great sadness that Sandy, Johnny and Billy announce the passing of their husband and father John Lawrence Ratke II, on Saturday, November 7, 2020 due to complications of congestive heart failure.  John is survived by his wife of 38 years Sandra A. Ratke (Sandy); sons John L. Ratke III (Johnny) and William P. Ratke (Billy).  He is also survived by his brothers Frank Ratke and his wife Jan; George Ratke; Greg Ratke and his wife Gina; Kevin Ratke; and brother-in-law Bill Jones.  He is also survived by mother-in-law Rosie Crowe; sisters-in-law Mary Robey and her husband Bill; and Janet Alessandrini and her husband David.  There are also numerous cousins, nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews who he loved dearly.

John, or “Larry” as he’s known to his family in Cumberland, was born to John Lawrence Ratke Sr. and Veronica (Bonnie) Delores Buskey on Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 10, 1953 in Cumberland, Maryland.  To honor this occasion, his father presented his mother with a dozen red roses – a custom he repeated with Sandy when their first son Johnny was born.

He grew up in Cumberland, Maryland and attended Catholic School at St. Mary’s and then at Bishop Walsh High School where he played center on the football team.  After graduation John worked for the railroad for a year and did roofing in the Adelphi area while staying at his aunt’s home.  Coming to the realization that he didn’t like doing manual labor outside in the heat and weather, he returned to Cumberland.  By working multiple jobs (school bus driver, short-order cook), he put himself through school at Allegany Community College (now Alleghany College), finally obtaining 5 Associates Degrees in math, accounting, and various computer areas.  While there he was a member of the Forestry Club where he met many lifelong friends and enjoyed various outdoor activities.

John moved from Cumberland to the DC metro area a couple of times, finally settling there for good in the late 70’s to work with computers.  Through the years he worked for various firms as a Computer Programmer Analyst, specializing in Payroll Accounting.  For the past 15 years he was with Fort Myer Construction in Washington, DC.  Throughout the pandemic he worked from home, when his health permitted.  This presented a challenge since Sandy was also working from home.  They worked out the logistics by having Sandy upstairs in the dining room on her work laptop, while he was downstairs on the family computer.  They had many meaningful conversations when he came upstairs to warm up (very cold downstairs), call his doctors, or to have breakfast and lunch.

In 1979, when his best friend Don Crowe transferred to the University of Maryland College Park, John was introduced to Don’s “cousins” he’d just met.  This was when he was introduced to Sandy Crowe.  They dated for two years before marrying on July 10, 1982 – her grandmother Lillian Crowe’s birthday.  They were never able to convince her it hadn’t been planned that way!  Married at the Silver Spring Presbyterian Church by the same minister who’d married Sandy’s parents 24 years prior and his wife who had since been ordained, John and Sandy honeymooned in Florida, even traveling with her other grandmother Mildred Eckhardt to return her home.  After the honeymoon, they returned to Beltsville, Maryland where their two sons quickly made an appearance and their family was complete by November, 1983.

An avid bowler, John worked at the White Oak Lanes in Cumberland for many years and traveled to bowling tournaments up and down the east coast usually making back his entrance fees and more in prize money.  While dating, John and Sandy enjoyed bowling with her parents and sisters on the Faculty/Staff Bowling League at the University of Maryland College Park.

John was an avid hunter for many years.  Some of his most enjoyable times were hunting with his buddy Don Crowe, his family, and their friends.  They have many happy memories of “Brother John” hunting with them.  He had also been a member of the White Tail Hunt Club with his father-in-law Bill Crowe, enjoying hunting in Green Ridge National Forest, but more specifically, on the leased property in Charles County.  Since the boys were still young, this permitted him to enjoy the activity he loved, but still allowed him to return home every evening to assist Sandy with the boys.

The family will welcome friends at a Celebration of Life, December 5, 2020 from 1:00 to 5:00 pm at the Knights of Columbus at 9450 Cherry Hill Rd, College Park, MD 20740.