STEVE RATLIFF (1947-2018)

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V21 2018 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 21, Number 42, October 21, 2018, Article 15

Jerry Schaeper Jr passed along word of the passing of longtime Florida token collector Steve Ratliff. This obituary is courtesy of Steve's son John Ratliff. The photo is courtesy John Wilson, cropped from a group photo he took at the Florida Token Society meeting in the Fall of 2017. Thanks. -Editor

John S. “Steve” Ratliff, 71, of Milton, Florida, passed away October 16, 2018, after a brief illness. He was born January 28, 1947, in Richlands, Virginia, and grew up in Palatka, Florida. He was a member of UWF’s charter class, graduating in 1969. After graduation, he volunteered for the draft and served in the Republic of Vietnam for twelve months in fire direction for Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 52nd Artillery Group.

After his return from Vietnam, he married the former Anna Elizabeth Speed and worked as an assistant manager for J.M. Fields’s department store. In October 1975, he joined the School District of Santa Rosa County as purchasing manager, where he worked for thirty-three years before retiring as Assistant Superintendent of Administrative Services in December 2008.

Steve began collecting coins as a fifth-grade student and remained an avid numismatist and token collector until his death. He served several terms as president of the Florida Token Society and edited the group’s newsletter, Tokenews, for several decades. He also collected coal scrip, a hobby that began when his grandmother gave him a piece of script earned by his grandfather the day that Steve’s own father was born. Coin collecting facilitated one of his great joys in life: receiving the mail. His other hobby was his car, a red Corvette, which he had fun driving. He enjoyed all things Elvis and often commented that “you can’t go a day without some reference to Elvis.”

Steve Ratliff was preceded in death by his parents, John S. Ratliff and Evelyn Norene Spangler Ratliff, of Palatka, FL. He is survived by his wife of forty-seven years, Anna Speed Ratliff, son John H. Ratliff (Amy), daughters Michelle E. Lee (Nathan) and Jamie L. Alcorn, his brother, Mike Ratliff, and grandchildren Cooper Lee, Foster Ratliff, Trinity Lee, Bentley Ratliff, and Isabella Alcorn.

The family would like to extend their sincere appreciation to the staff and physicians at Baptist Health Care and the friends and family who have help so much during the past few months.

I first met Steve at a Florida Token Society meeting several years ago. He was immediately interested in this ‘Canadian’ and made every effort to make me feel comfortable. Over the last few years, I have had email exchanges with Steve that were always interesting and informative. Steve’s enthusiasm for tokens, especially Florida tokens, was infectious and my conversations with Steve usually left me wanting to research more. I found Steve to be a dedicated, kind and generous person who was always willing to help and to ‘talk tokens’.

Rest in Peace, my American Friend.