David P. Ratchford

Ratchford, David P.

On April 2, 2023, David P. Ratchford died at the age of 69.  He was the beloved brother of Diann Minderlein (James), Thomas, and Alice Shelman (John Feser).  David was born in Baltimore November 13, 1953 to a large, happy family and attended Baltimore Polytechnic Institute.A few years after graduating from Baltimore Poly in 1971, Dave moved to West Palm Florida.  He started working as a professional freelance mate on sport fishing boats.  Before long he was fishing with some of the top captains on their boats and travelling often.  He especially liked fishing in other countries.  Despite a busy lifestyle, he was able to set up a successful custom rod making shop in Florida.  Eventually he returned to Baltimore and there he built rods for various tackle shops.While in Baltimore, Dave joined a carpentry union and did special jobs around Baltimore and DC at hotels and other special projects.  He still had time to spend outdoors fishing and boating but was still a hardworking carpentry man. Dave had a great sense of humor and was fun to be around. He was known to his family and friends as a stand up guy who one could count on for his willingness to help others.  He will be missed, loved and remembered always. A celebration of David’s life will be at a later date.

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