In Memory Of Michael Ratterree

 

 

 

 

 

September 29, 1951- October 22, 2003

 

Death is nothing at all. I have only slipped away into the next room. I am I, and you are you, and whatever we were to each other, that we still are. Call me by my old familiar name. Speak to me in the easy way you always used, put no difference into your tone. Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow. Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes we enjoyed together. Play, smile, think of me, pray for me. Life means all that it ever meant. It is the same as it always was. There is absolutely unbroken continuity. I am but waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near, just around the corner. All is well. -unknown

 

 

People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they're not on your road doesn't mean they've gotten lost. -H. Jackson Brown Jr

 

 

Published Saturday, October 25, 2003

MICHAEL RATTERREE, 52

WINTER HAVEN -- Mr. Michael "Bear" Ratterree of Winter Haven died of heart disease Wednesday (Oct. 22, 2003) Lakeland Regional Medical Center. He was 52. Born in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 29, 1951, he came to Winter Haven from Virginia in 1975. He was a corrugator operator at Georgia Pacific Box Co. in Auburndale. He was an Army veteran of the Vietnam War who served in 1971 and 1972 and received the Silver Star. He was a member of AmVets Post No. 32 and the United States Military Veterans Motor Cycle Club in Lakeland. He was a Presbyterian. Mr. Ratterree is survived by his daughters, Frances Angell, Dacula, Ga., Sharon Ratterree, Winter Haven; brothers, Steve Ratterree, Florence, Ala., Tim Ratterree, Dade City; sisters, Vickie Dickson, Palm Harbor, Terri Haire, New Port Richey; father, Eugene Ratterree, Palm Harbor; mother, Marian Ratterree, Manassas, Va.; two grandchildren. Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Sunday at Lakeland Funeral Home. Services will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Christian Fellowship Church, 37200 Lock St., Dade City. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the United States Military Veterans Motor Cycle Clubs Downed Brothers Fund, 1323 East Gary Road, Lakeland, FL 33801.

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Photo of Michael "Bear" Ratterree