Published in The Sierra Vista Herald (March 19, 2023):
TUCSON- Wilma Lucy Ratliff, 90, departed this earth on March 8, 2023, to be with the Lord.
She was born (Wilma Lucy Bigelow) May 27, 1932 in Bisbee, Arizona. She spent most of her life in the Bisbee area. She had a sense of humor. She liked to say she was the salutatorian of her 8th grade graduating class of three students at the Frontier School. She attended Bisbee High School, graduating in 1950.
In 1950 she married Jack Ratliff, her lifelong partner of 53 years. They lived in Naco and McNeal, Arizona, where they raised four sons. Her husband passed away in 2003. In 2009 she moved to Tucson to live with her son, Jerry.
Wilma was a contract specialist at Ft. Huachuca, Arizona, procuring goods and services for the Army. She rose to the ranks of contracting officer, where one of her more visible contracts made it into the Army's legal review as a case study in good contracting practices. She retired from government service in July, 1988.
Wilma was a loving, caring soul who unselfishly went out of her way to help people in need, often unbeknownst to her closest loved ones. She loved to read and write and wrote a collection of poems about life experiences growing up in Sulfur Springs Valley, raising a family, and her faith in God. An astute grandson, working for a publisher, collected her poems and published them. Wilma's Potpourri of Poems is cherished by many family members and friends.
She was a devout Christian with a longstanding membership in Hope Lutheran Church in Bisbee, as well as Fountain of Life Lutheran Church in Tucson. Her faith profoundly shaped the lives of her family, loved ones, and everyone she touched.
Wilma is preceded in death by her mother and father, William and Lucy Bigelow; two sisters, Beatrice Althouse and Mary Jane Callison; a brother, William (Bill) Bigelow; a son, Ronny Ratliff; and her husband, Jack.
She is survived by a sister, Gladys Holden of Taylor, Arizona; and four sons, Randy Ratliff (wife Alice), Jerry Ratliff, Tracy Ratliff (wife Marty), and Terry Ratliff (wife Sandra); 9 grandchildren; and 18 great-grandchildren.
A Celebration of Life service will be held at Fountain of Life Lutheran Church, 710 S. Kolb Rd., Tucson, on 1 April at 11:00 am. Wilma will be buried next to her husband at the Southern Arizona Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Sierra Vista, in a private ceremony [Interment: 11:00 a.m., 21 March 2023].
Arrangements are by Angel Valley Funeral Home.
TUCSON- Wilma Lucy Ratliff, 90, departed this earth on March 8, 2023, to be with the Lord.
She was born (Wilma Lucy Bigelow) May 27, 1932 in Bisbee, Arizona. She spent most of her life in the Bisbee area. She had a sense of humor. She liked to say she was the salutatorian of her 8th grade graduating class of three students at the Frontier School. She attended Bisbee High School, graduating in 1950.
In 1950 she married Jack Ratliff, her lifelong partner of 53 years. They lived in Naco and McNeal, Arizona, where they raised four sons. Her husband passed away in 2003. In 2009 she moved to Tucson to live with her son, Jerry.
Wilma was a contract specialist at Ft. Huachuca, Arizona, procuring goods and services for the Army. She rose to the ranks of contracting officer, where one of her more visible contracts made it into the Army's legal review as a case study in good contracting practices. She retired from government service in July, 1988.
Wilma was a loving, caring soul who unselfishly went out of her way to help people in need, often unbeknownst to her closest loved ones. She loved to read and write and wrote a collection of poems about life experiences growing up in Sulfur Springs Valley, raising a family, and her faith in God. An astute grandson, working for a publisher, collected her poems and published them. Wilma's Potpourri of Poems is cherished by many family members and friends.
She was a devout Christian with a longstanding membership in Hope Lutheran Church in Bisbee, as well as Fountain of Life Lutheran Church in Tucson. Her faith profoundly shaped the lives of her family, loved ones, and everyone she touched.
Wilma is preceded in death by her mother and father, William and Lucy Bigelow; two sisters, Beatrice Althouse and Mary Jane Callison; a brother, William (Bill) Bigelow; a son, Ronny Ratliff; and her husband, Jack.
She is survived by a sister, Gladys Holden of Taylor, Arizona; and four sons, Randy Ratliff (wife Alice), Jerry Ratliff, Tracy Ratliff (wife Marty), and Terry Ratliff (wife Sandra); 9 grandchildren; and 18 great-grandchildren.
A Celebration of Life service will be held at Fountain of Life Lutheran Church, 710 S. Kolb Rd., Tucson, on 1 April at 11:00 am. Wilma will be buried next to her husband at the Southern Arizona Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Sierra Vista, in a private ceremony [Interment: 11:00 a.m., 21 March 2023].
Arrangements are by Angel Valley Funeral Home.
Published in The Sierra Vista Herald (March 19, 2023):
TUCSON- Wilma Lucy Ratliff, 90, departed this earth on March 8, 2023, to be with the Lord.
She was born (Wilma Lucy Bigelow) May 27, 1932 in Bisbee, Arizona. She spent most of her life in the Bisbee area. She had a sense of humor. She liked to say she was the salutatorian of her 8th grade graduating class of three students at the Frontier School. She attended Bisbee High School, graduating in 1950.
In 1950 she married Jack Ratliff, her lifelong partner of 53 years. They lived in Naco and McNeal, Arizona, where they raised four sons. Her husband passed away in 2003. In 2009 she moved to Tucson to live with her son, Jerry.
Wilma was a contract specialist at Ft. Huachuca, Arizona, procuring goods and services for the Army. She rose to the ranks of contracting officer, where one of her more visible contracts made it into the Army's legal review as a case study in good contracting practices. She retired from government service in July, 1988.
Wilma was a loving, caring soul who unselfishly went out of her way to help people in need, often unbeknownst to her closest loved ones. She loved to read and write and wrote a collection of poems about life experiences growing up in Sulfur Springs Valley, raising a family, and her faith in God. An astute grandson, working for a publisher, collected her poems and published them. Wilma's Potpourri of Poems is cherished by many family members and friends.
She was a devout Christian with a longstanding membership in Hope Lutheran Church in Bisbee, as well as Fountain of Life Lutheran Church in Tucson. Her faith profoundly shaped the lives of her family, loved ones, and everyone she touched.
Wilma is preceded in death by her mother and father, William and Lucy Bigelow; two sisters, Beatrice Althouse and Mary Jane Callison; a brother, William (Bill) Bigelow; a son, Ronny Ratliff; and her husband, Jack.
She is survived by a sister, Gladys Holden of Taylor, Arizona; and four sons, Randy Ratliff (wife Alice), Jerry Ratliff, Tracy Ratliff (wife Marty), and Terry Ratliff (wife Sandra); 9 grandchildren; and 18 great-grandchildren.
A Celebration of Life service will be held at Fountain of Life Lutheran Church, 710 S. Kolb Rd., Tucson, on 1 April at 11:00 am. Wilma will be buried next to her husband at the Southern Arizona Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Sierra Vista, in a private ceremony [Interment: 11:00 a.m., 21 March 2023].
Arrangements are by Angel Valley Funeral Home.
TUCSON- Wilma Lucy Ratliff, 90, departed this earth on March 8, 2023, to be with the Lord.
She was born (Wilma Lucy Bigelow) May 27, 1932 in Bisbee, Arizona. She spent most of her life in the Bisbee area. She had a sense of humor. She liked to say she was the salutatorian of her 8th grade graduating class of three students at the Frontier School. She attended Bisbee High School, graduating in 1950.
In 1950 she married Jack Ratliff, her lifelong partner of 53 years. They lived in Naco and McNeal, Arizona, where they raised four sons. Her husband passed away in 2003. In 2009 she moved to Tucson to live with her son, Jerry.
Wilma was a contract specialist at Ft. Huachuca, Arizona, procuring goods and services for the Army. She rose to the ranks of contracting officer, where one of her more visible contracts made it into the Army's legal review as a case study in good contracting practices. She retired from government service in July, 1988.
Wilma was a loving, caring soul who unselfishly went out of her way to help people in need, often unbeknownst to her closest loved ones. She loved to read and write and wrote a collection of poems about life experiences growing up in Sulfur Springs Valley, raising a family, and her faith in God. An astute grandson, working for a publisher, collected her poems and published them. Wilma's Potpourri of Poems is cherished by many family members and friends.
She was a devout Christian with a longstanding membership in Hope Lutheran Church in Bisbee, as well as Fountain of Life Lutheran Church in Tucson. Her faith profoundly shaped the lives of her family, loved ones, and everyone she touched.
Wilma is preceded in death by her mother and father, William and Lucy Bigelow; two sisters, Beatrice Althouse and Mary Jane Callison; a brother, William (Bill) Bigelow; a son, Ronny Ratliff; and her husband, Jack.
She is survived by a sister, Gladys Holden of Taylor, Arizona; and four sons, Randy Ratliff (wife Alice), Jerry Ratliff, Tracy Ratliff (wife Marty), and Terry Ratliff (wife Sandra); 9 grandchildren; and 18 great-grandchildren.
A Celebration of Life service will be held at Fountain of Life Lutheran Church, 710 S. Kolb Rd., Tucson, on 1 April at 11:00 am. Wilma will be buried next to her husband at the Southern Arizona Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Sierra Vista, in a private ceremony [Interment: 11:00 a.m., 21 March 2023].
Arrangements are by Angel Valley Funeral Home.
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