Judy Juneau introduced Bob Ratliffe with the following comments:

When his colleagues were asked to describe Bob, they would all light up and each had a different story to tell about Bob. 

BOB:

•    has been at Longfellow for 31 years

•    who, according to one teacher who was here in 1973, looked just like he does today

•    so many mentioned his great sense of humor - the younger staff saying how loony it was and that they didn’t always get it - the more seasoned staff, relishing his antidotes on life

•   some told me how dignified and clever he is, but how totally cornball he could become, evident in the time we had an assembly and the actor picked Bob out of the audience and the next time we saw Bob he was Elvis, wig and shaking hips, dancing and playing along with the skit

•   Another reminded me of the Halloween prank that he played on all of us, telling us he would not be back from lunch for the PM parade but that he had requested a sub. The sub turned Out to be Bob in drag. There were many admiring stares from the parents that came to watch the kids parade.

•   I was reminded of the name the kids on Safety Patrol and service squad use when referring to Bob, “Mr. Candyman.” Bob would give the kids pizza parties, candy and take them swimming at the Y. If you ever needed a quick thousand dollars Bob could sell candy and have it raised in a week.

•   The school secretary told me about how she would call up to the room to have a child sent down to the office because a parent was here “to pick the student up,” she would get in reply, “They’re too heavy.” Or the reply to “Can I see so-and-so,” was “Not from there!”

•   Still another told me how in the hallway Bob entertained two girls with a dance and song about being slowpokes when she complained they were taking to long at their lockers.

•   I heard how, on field trips, Bob didn’t like to take parents but preferred to take all his kids in one group and would whip them through the Henry Ford Museum in record breaking time. I myself had been on several field trips with Bob: Chicago, Cleveland, Toronto,and several years of three days at winter camp. I always enjoyed our conversations and knew that things wouldn’t dare go wrong when Bob was there.

•   I remember sitting in Sandra Standel’s office listening to Bob tell her how he had to have this hip replacement and no, he would have only one done. Two months later he was telling her how he now was going to have the other one done and right away. The hip surgery only slowed Bob down a little, he still manages to exercise every morning before school.

•   Students that overheard me asking teachers for input, jumped in to tell me how cool Mr. Ratliffe is, and funny, always telling jokes, they even used the term sweet. The most popular term used though was, “he’s a good teacher.”

But, the one thing that all the staff members said to me over and over, was what a true gentleman Bob is. All had a story to tell me about a kindness Bob had shown them. How caring he is, and a good listener who was always supportive. I must admit, that as a new principal in the building, it was Bob’s room I would linger at, joke around with, ask his opinion, or ask for help. I knew, as did the rest of the staff, that you could always count on him. If it were assigned to him he would do it and do it well. We made many changes in how business was to be done at Longfellow over those years. Restructuring ourselves into teams, many left, Bob stayed, made the changes, even embraced them and became a member of a team.

Actually, it has felt odd to refer to Bob, as Bob. He will always be Mr. Ratliffe to his students, his colleagues and to me. I wish him well as he heads off for a better place and there will never be anyone else who can tell a joke like Mr. Ratliffe.