John David Ratliff, 98, died on January 8, 2021. After graduating from high school, he received a scholarship to attend what is now ASU where he studied classic literature. His time in college was interrupted by his service as a radar technician on a Marine battleship in World War II. John returned from the South Pacific to complete his BA. He taught junior high for a year, married Dellamae Weller and headed for graduate school at Claremont College (MA). He then went to Stanford University for his Ph.D work (specialty in Shakespeare). He got a good job at Oregon State University, but wanted to return to Arizona and landed a position at ASU within a few years.

John enjoyed teaching, but his roving intelligence wouldn’t let him sit still. He intuited in the early 1960’s that the Valley he had known for so long was about to have a significant real estate boom and he wanted to be in on it. He plunged into the world of real estate, working for others at first to learn the ropes while continuing to teach. He’d opened his own business by 1965 and gradually reduced his hours on the ASU campus, but continued to teach Shakespeare courses into the 1970’s. His career in real estate took off and he was a force until he retired to travel the world in his later years. This last adventure took him to at least 80 countries.

John is survived by one daughter, three sons, their spouses and four grandchildren. (Source: Messinger Mortuary)