Ben Ratliff

GRAVESIDE SERVICE: 2:00 P.M. Saturday, January 5, 2013 at Mercer Gap Cemetery in Comanche County. VISITATION: 6:00 P.M. 8:00 P.M. Friday evening at the funeral home. MEMORIALS: West Side Baptist Church, 3980 W. Houston Harte Expressway, San Angelo, Texas 76901; or Trinity Baptist Church, P.o. Box 246, Strawn, Texas 76475. Ben “Sonny” Richard Ratliff, age 74, passed away on Thursday, January 3, 2012, at his home in Robert Lee, Texas, with his wife, Patsy by his side. He was born December 5, 1938, in Junction, Texas, to Raymond and Guida Ratliff. Ben grew up in Comanche and as a teenager worked on his family’s dairy. He graduated from Comanche High School in 1957 and on May 25, 1957, he married the love of his life, Patsy Ruth McEwin at Mercer Gap Baptist Church in Comanche County. Ben enlisted in the United States Navy in 1957 and was honorably discharged in Long Beach California. He became a certified diesel mechanic and moved to Port Arthur where he was employed by Gulf Oil Company. He later transferred to New Orleans, Louisiana. He also worked for Wilson Art in Temple and, in later years, worked on Housetop and Glass Mountain near Marathon, Texas, as a heavy equipment operator and mechanic. For the last several years he worked for Mike and Rhea Irish on the Irish Ranch. Ben loved spending time with his family and friends. He enjoyed deep sea fishing and had his own boat while living near the coast. He also enjoyed deer hunting, woodworking, gospel music and Bluegrass gospel music, and listening to ministers preaching the gospel according to the King James Version of the Bible. He became a licensed minister in 1976 at Twin Cities Baptist Church. He was a member of West Side Baptist Church in San Angelo. He is survived by his wife, Patsy Ruth McEwin Ratliff of Robert Lee; son, Raymond Eugene (Jake) Ratliff and wife Terryesa of Strawn; Daughter, Cindy D’Anna (Sam) Ratliff Kinser and husband Melvin of Oglesby; daughter, Tessa Gayle (Sissy) Ratliff Cotter and husband Danny of Snyder; five grandchildren, Michael Paul Kinser, Kevin Wayne Ratliff, Susan Michelle Kinser Wylie, Joshua Ben Richard Ratliff, and Jake Garrett Cotter; eleven great-grandchildren, Tyler Bays, Bailey D’Anna Davidson, Mikinzie Fitzhugh, Hailee Ratliff, Payton Kinser, Braeden Ratliff, Kamryn Ratliff, Kinlee Ratliff, Mallory Ratliff, Mattie Ratliff, and Conner Wylie; sisters, Doris Jane Ratliff Darden and husband Larry of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Brenda Jean Ratliff of Stephenville; and best friends, Leland and Noelle Conway, Ken and Dru Guy, Mike and Rhea Irish, and Forney and Dee Smith. He was preceded in death by his oldest son, Bobby Wayne Ratliff; parents, Raymond and Guida Ratliff; and brothers, Ronald Monroe Ratliff and Jon Raymond Ratliff.