Ruth L Ratcliffe

Lynn McGrew Ratcliffe-Registered Nurse, Accountant, Daughters of the American Revolution member, USO volunteer, Genealogy researcher, Gold Star Wives, Society of Military Widow, and dog lover left this world on April 4, 2019. Born in Pittsburgh, PA in 1947, Lynn graduated from Baldwin-Whitehall High School in 1965. She became a registered nurse in 1968 from Mercy Hospital’s School of Nursing. Lynn specialized in dialysis, ICU, CCU, and the ER. She worked continuously as a nurse except for a time as an accountant after she graduated from the University of Tampa with her BS in Accounting. After about a year, Lynn returned to nursing until her 1995 retirement. Later in life, the accounting skills helped her as treasurer for the Gold Star Wives and the Society of Military Widows.

On one occasion, I watched my sister change from being my sibling in a social situation to a nurse helping her sick husband. The transformation gave me a lot of respect for her and her abilities.

Lynn married her second husband, Norm Ratcliffe in 1981. Unfortunately, he passed in 1982 of service related reasons. He was veteran of the Vietnam War. Lynn became active in the Gold Star Wives and Society of Military Widows when she moved to Las Vegas in 1995. Her generous nature took her to volunteer at the Las Vegas USO at McCarren Airport for five years on the night shift.

Over her lifetime Lynn lived in several states, but she enjoyed living in Las Vegas, Nevada, the most. Whether it was playing tour guide to a family member or visiting friend, Lynn showed us the Bellagio’s conservatory, Fashion Show Mall, Caesar’s Place, the High Roller, and more. She used a power wheelchair for her bad back; Watson, her Cairn terrier, would sit at her side and enjoy people watching. The two of them trained for the service dog work at Smarty Paws with Janet Edberg. Lynn was proud that their team had learned and tested to accomplish many activities. She considered the Las Vegas Strip a great place to train because you could encounter a variety of people, places, and things.

Years of genealogy work paid off with finding a patriot of the American Revolutionary War and achieving membership in the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. As a member of the Red Rock Chapter, Lynn enjoyed donating her time to activities and charities with this patriotic organization. Many times, she would shop for playing cards or other items to go into veteran’s Christmas stockings or to women’s shelters.

Dog ownership and AKC obedience trials, took Lynn and her Cairn terriers to dog shows where she earned obedience and rally titles with Ian and a CGC with Molly, Ian, and Watson. She was a member of the Las Vegas Dog Obedience Club for several years. With her sense of caring, Lynn joined the Colonel Potter Cairn Rescue group and a pet therapy organization. She fostered Cairns, transported them, and did whatever she could to help. Most Saturdays, Lynn and Molly, Ian, or Watson would visit the residents at an assisted nursing facility.

Nurses are prone to back pains due to picking up patients. At first, Lynn thought her pain was her normal aches, but an ultrasound at the emergency room in early March, 2019, revealed advanced cancers.

Our loved ones who left us before Lynn were our father, Thomas W. (Dan) McGrew; our mother, Ruth Barker McGrew; her husband, Norman Ratcliffe; and several cousins. She is survived by her daughter, Major Connie Ratcliffe Patterson, ret. and son-in-law, Monty Patterson of Florida, and her granddaughter, Jessica Patterson of Utah. Lynn was the oldest of our sibling group - J. Gail McGrew of Georgia; Thomas G. McGrew of New York, and Stephen M. McGrew of Florida. Two nieces and three nephews mourn her also.

No services will be held in Las Vegas. A funeral Mass and graveside service will take place at Grace Memorial Gardens in Hudson, Florida. Lynn will be buried next to her husband, Norm. Watson is going to the Colonel Potter Cairn Rescue Network. Donations to Col. Potter Cairn Rescue are requested in lieu of flowers. https://www.cairnrescue.com/donate/ or CPCRN c/o Amy Robinson, POB 33, Mehoopany, Pa 18629