James Preston Ratliff, 48, passed away July 11, 2014.

Memorial services are pending. Please check Jim Ratliff’s Facebook page for details. Arrangements by Indiana Funeral Care and Crematory.

He was born on March 5, 1966 in Connersville, Indiana. And that was pretty much the last “normal” thing he ever did. He was a seeker from the get-go. He spent each day of his life on a quest to experience the new, to explore the un(or under)explored. Far from perfect, but with positive qualities that outweighed his flaws by far more than he would ever acknowledge, Jim tried with every moment to become a better man.

As Jim used to say, it was hard to sum up his life experiences in any brief way and really capture what they were like. He had attended Connersville High School, and then went on to Ball State University. While at BSU he made the life-altering decision to join Phi Sigma Kappa, an organization that would remain important to him the rest of his life. His Brothers would make up a huge portion of his lifelong friends. He worked in several different industries, including liquor distribution, fundraising, sales, and for the retail division of Pebble Beach Golf Resorts. He never failed to make connections or find new friends along the way. He handled himself in a way that always made an impression, and had quite the mane of silver hair that made him impossible to forget. He lived in several different cities, but his heart belonged to Monterey, California. There he loved to spend time hiking and hanging out with friends, and especially loved roaming the beach seeing wildlife. He made many trips to Fisherman’s Wharf with his best buddy Max, who in Jim’s opinion was the coolest Greyhound ever, and who loved being fed peas straight from Jim’s fork and stealing sips out of glasses of wine. He spent his last few years back in Indiana, reconnecting with many folks, loving, losing, and always continuing to learn. He also happened to end up with a chick who adored him and whom he adored right back.

Jim leaves behind a virtual mob of family, some by blood, and many who just had the good fortune to be truly loved by him. They take comfort in the fact that in all likelihood he’s already talked himself into the coolest party on the other side, waiting with Maxie by his side for us to join them.

Memorial services are pending. Please check Jim Ratliff’s Facebook page for details. Arrangements by Indiana Funeral Care and Crematory.