Educator, geologist had ‘lifelong curiosity’ for natural world – Brattleboro Reformer

By John Burdis, Reformer correspondent

SAXTONS RIVER — Charles A. “Chuck” Ratte, an educator and author who served as the state geologist for 16 years, died at his home on Wednesday, Feb. 20. He was 91.

As the Vermont State Geologist from 1976 to 1991, Ratte successfully transferred the responsibilities of the Vermont State Geological Survey from the University of Vermont to the Agency of Natural Resources. He later conducted a landmark study of radioactivity, which led to the restriction of nuclear waste siting in Vermont. In 1989, he helped guide legislation through the State House that redefined the mission and significance of the state geologist.

One of Ratte’s successors in the state geologist position, Larry Becker, said that he learned a great deal from Ratte. “I looked up to Chuck for the how he ran the survey and the way he carried himself as a spokesman for geology,” Becker said.

“I started working for [Ratte] in the mid-1980’s on nuclear waste issues and learned much from him on how to navigate state government and being in the position of supporting geology in a larger agency,” Becker said. “Though I moved into the position of State Geologist after Diane Conrad, my formative years at the Vermont Geological Survey were under Chuck when the controversial issue of nuclear waste was up front and very visible. He set the pathway and we worked together to point out the difficulties of siting such a facility in Vermont. For a variety of technical reasons we brought to the Department of Energy, Vermont no longer was under consideration.”

Becker also credited Ratte for making the case for a new map of the state’s bedrock geology in the 1980s. His ground work leading to the completion of that map in 2011 was “a testament to his vision,” Becker said of Ratte.

“Chuck’s lifelong curiosity and love of the natural world made him a wonderful teacher and mentor for those of us fortunate enough to cross his path,” added colleague Alan McBean. “One of his greatest gifts was his ability to relate geology to the layperson. He had a keen interest in helping the casual observer of natural wonders to a deeper understanding of our ever-changing planet.”

Born in 1927 in Brattleboro to Alphonse and Elizabeth (Robinson) Ratte, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1945 during the final months of World War II, just days after his graduation from St. Michael’s High School. After his military service, he received his bachelor’s degree in geology from Middlebury and his master’s degree at Dartmouth. He earned an Ph.D. from the University of Arizona in 1963, with a specialty in mineralogy and ore deposits.

Ratte met his wife, Judith (Templin) Ratte, while a summer field assistant in 1953 for the U.S Geological Survey in Glacier Bay, Alaska. During his Ph.D. studies in Arizona, and later employment with U.S. Steel in Utah, the couple had two daughters, Michele and Lisa.

The family moved back to Brattleboro in 1963 when Ratte accepted a professorship post at Windham College, where he pioneered student geology programs in Spain and the Caribbean Islands, chaired the geology department, and was an admired presence on campus for 13 years until the college closed in 1976. He was also a visiting professor at the University of Kentucky from 1991 to 1993.

Between his retirement in 1994 and before moving back to Vermont in 2008, Ratte lived on Martha’s Vineyard, where he frequently substitute taught in the Martha’s Vineyard public schools.

“Chuck often took my classes,” said retired science teacher John Nelson. “He had a special way with the bad boys, and we had plenty.”

While living on Martha’s Vineyard, Ratte often presented guest lectures and led geology and fossil hunting expeditions to the Gay Head Cliffs and terminal moraine, sharing his delight upon finding some hitchhiker boulder from thousands of miles away.

Ratte was the author of numerous articles in professional journals and scientific publications and was finishing a book about Vermont’s unique geology at the time of his death.

He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Judith Ratte of Saxtons River; daughters Michele Ratte of Saxtons River and Lisa Ratte of Calais, Maine; brothers Edward Ratte of Mineola, N.Y. and Alphonse Ratte of Derry, N.H.; and a sister, Jo Ann Del Coriano, of Ashville, N.C. He was predeceased by his sister Dorothy (Ratte) Austin in 1995. Ratte’s ashes will be interred in the Saxtons River Cemetery.

Donations in his memory may be made to the Visiting Nurse and Hospice for Vermont and New Hampshire (VNH), PO Box 881, Brattleboro, Vermont, 05302 or the Grace Cottage Hospital Foundation, 185 Grafton Road, Townshend, VT 05353.