John T. Ratzlaff

John Thomas Ratzlaff, 83, of Millbrae, CA, passed away June 2, 2005, at his home. He was born Aug. 19, 1921, in Atlantic, Iowa, the son of Oscar and Marie Ratzlaff. He attended schools in Harlowton, MT, and graduated as a chemical engineer from Montana State College in Bozeman. He was always known as Jack. He and Mildred Ferrington were married in 1943. He was preceded in death by his parents and infant son, John Carl. He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Mildred; son, Tom (Kathie) of Menlo Park; son, Jim (Diane) of San Carlos; daughter, Mary Jean Murphy (John) of Petaluma; four grandsons and four granddaughters and an infant great-granddaughter. Jack always had hobbies - model airplanes (free flight) and u-control, go-karts with Tom and slot cars which he built for Jim. He studied Nikola Tesla for many years, including research by his father. The Smithsonian Institute permitted him to photograph their complete collection of Tesla material. Then he began the Tesla Book Company which grew beyond his wildest dreams. He sold books on six continents. He sold the business, but we recently learned from a granddaughter that Jack and the Tesla Book Co. are widely known on the Internet. Jack is much missed by his family and friends.