Barbara Ratliff Wolkstein

Barbara Ann Ratliff Wolkstein died unexpectedly of a cardiac event on Thursday, March 19, 2020 in Baltimore, MD. Barbara was born on March 30, 1953, in Baltimore, MD and lived most of her life in Ellicott City, MD. 

Barbara attended Hiram College in Hiram, OH. Here she met her future husband, Andrew, and received her Bachelors Degree in Education in 1975. She then received a Masters Degree in Education in 1979 from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD. Her first teaching assignment was as a Special Education Professional at Marley Junior High School in Anne Arundel County, MD. After 7 years she left teaching to raise her two children, Lauren and Daniel. Barbara then transferred to Baltimore County, MD to teach another 20 years at Featherbed Elementary, Chadwick Elementary, and eventually retiring from Westowne Elementary. 

Barbara was the loving wife of a Military Officer in the West Virginia Air National Guard. She had to raise her children as a single mom when her husband deployed multiple times throughout the world. After her retirement she was diagnosed with Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA) due to Early Onset Atypical Alzheimers. For the past three years her quality of life was deteriorating until her unexpected death. Family was always first in her life and she allowed her husband, children, and brother to say goodbye. 

She is survived by her husband of 45 years, Andrew I. Wolkstein; her children, Lauren Meliss Wolkstein (Sara Kiener) and Daniel Cliff Wolkstein; and her three grandchildren, Liam Cliff Wolkstein, Maya Ruth Wolkstein, and Evelyn Sylvie Wolkner. 

Please do not send flowers. Donations may be made to the Alzheimer's Association or to the Sea Turtle Conservancy, for her love of sea turtles. All services are private.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Barbara Ratliff Wolkstein, please visit our floral store.