Joan Eloise (Masalin) Ratliff
May 3, 1932 – January 23, 2022
Joan Eloise (Masalin) Ratliff passed away peacefully at the Gorham House in Gorham, Maine at the age of 89.
Born in Camden, Maine, to Ossian Reino Masalin and Lucille Mae (Carver) Masalin, Joan grew up in nearby Lincolnville among extended family and friends on both her mother’s and father’s side of the family.
Joan enjoyed an active, free-range childhood in the country that is nearly unimaginable today. Joan helped out on both grandparents’ farms, picking blueberries, collecting eggs from the henhouse, milking cows, haying, and performing other chores. She also played year-round with her many cousins and friends, climbing trees and eating apples in the fall, skiing down Masalin Mountain in the winter, hiking Maiden’s Cliff and Poverty Knoll in spring, and running down Youngtown Road to swim in Megunticook Lake in the summer.
Joan became even more active in high school. She transferred from Camden High School to Portland High School (PHS) her sophomore year, when her family moved to Portland, Maine. She continued as a cheerleader at PHS and was also a baton-twirling majorette with the band; a swim team member who won the Maine State Backstroke Championship in 1950; an award-winning member and Co-President of the Art Club; a member of the softball and bowling teams; and a member of the Teen Clickers, a school spirit sorority. Joan made many life-long friends in high school and looked forward to her class reunions. She attended every reunion from her 5th through her 60th, and came home with the brightest smile after seeing her friends again at each one.
Joan met Donald Ratliff, a tennis player at PHS from Portland, Maine, and they married after graduation in 1950. Joan and Don settled in Portland and had 5 children during their 27-year marriage. Her children and grandchildren were the light of her life, and Joan was proud of every one of them. Ever the cheerleader, she attended many of the sporting events that her children and grandchildren participated in, and her voice was often heard above all the others cheering her children’s and grandchildren’s teams on.
Joan was not only an avid athlete and enthusiastic cheerleader, she was a talented artist. She continued to paint throughout her life until rheumatoid arthritis made painting difficult. She painted many rural and coastal Maine landscapes and local Portland scenes, as well as portraits of her children. Her many paintings are a treasured legacy to her family.
Joan was multi-talented and resourceful. She was an excellent seamstress, and made tailored shirts for both her tall, long-armed boys because she couldn’t find any shirts with long enough sleeves in Portland’s department stores. She was an outstanding baker who kept her active family of seven well fed with the best Maine “goodies”, including whoopie pies, needhams, cakes, brownies, nisua (a traditional Finnish sweet bread recipe passed down from her Finnish grandmother), and home-made root beer.
Joan was also a life-long learner who was curious about the world. She loved music of all kinds, especially classical and big band music. She could often be heard whistling her favorite tunes while cooking, sewing, and baking.
Joan was also a voracious reader who was interested in philosophy, psychology, astrology, and particularly history. She was so well-read that her children always wanted her on their Trivial Pursuit teams to ensure a win. She was a master at History, Arts & Literature, Geography, and Entertainment, and held her own in Sports & Leisure and Science & Nature.
While she did not make it to art school as she had dreamed of in high school, Joan successfully applied her artistic skills in the printing industry for over 30 years in Portland, Wells, and Rockland, Maine.
Joan returned to Lincolnville in her later years and was an active member of the United Christian Church and the Lincolnville Historical Society (LHS), like her mother before her. Joan donated many family histories, artifacts, and photographs to the LHS collection. She also contributed family histories and photographs and prepared drawings for the book “Staying Put in Lincolnville, Maine, 1900-1950” by her friend and colleague Diane Roesing O’Brien.
Joan had many challenges in life, including the onset of rheumatoid arthritis at age 51, but she always demonstrated “Sisu”, the Finnish word for perseverance and intestinal fortitude. Her paternal grandparents were from Finland, but she clearly inherited “Sisu” and her strong values from both her father’s and mother’s intrepid, talented, and resourceful families.
Joan is predeceased by her parents of Lincolnville, ME, and her nephew Keith Masalin of Hancock, ME.
Joan is survived by her five children: Karen Ratliff of Belfast, ME; Donald Ratliff of Methuen, MA; Paul Ratliff and his wife Susan of The Villages, FL; Wanda Ratliff and her husband David LaRochelle of Hopkinton, MA; and Susan (Ratliff) Attianese of Naples, ME.
She is also survived by her seven grandchildren: Megan (Ratliff) Farris and her husband William Farris of Morrill, ME; Nathan Ratliff and his wife Siobhan of Lowell, MA; Stephanie Ratliff and her boyfriend Salim Abboud of North Royalton, OH; Bryan Ratliff and his wife Kelly of Bolton, MA; Matthew Ratliff of Haverhill, MA; Anthony Attianese of Naples, ME; and Angelica (Attianese) Heroux and her husband Justin Heroux of Gardiner, ME.
Joan is also survived by her four great-grandchildren: Savannah and Daphne Ratliff of Bolton, MA; Liliana Attianese of Naples, ME; and Molly Heroux of Gardiner, ME.
Joan is survived by her brother David Masalin and his wife Harriette of Lincolnville, ME, and their sons Wayne Masalin of Windham, ME, and Scott Masalin and his wife Catherine of Rye, NY.
In lieu of flowers, those who wish to make a memorial donation in Joan’s name may do so to the Lincolnville Historical Society at:
Lincolnville Historical Society
PO Box 204
Lincolnville, ME 04849
A celebration of life will be held on Saturday March 12 from 1 - 4 PM at the Chad E. Poitras Cremation and Funeral Service Chapel, 498 Long Plains Road, in Buxton, ME. The family respectfully requests that masks be worn.
Interment will take place at Maplewood Cemetery in Lincolnville, ME at a future date.
Joan’s Family would like to express our deepest gratitude to the entire Gorham House staff in Gorham, ME, especially those on Cambridge, Windsor I, and Windsor II, as well as Dr. Ari Berman and his staff, for their outstanding, kind, and compassionate care of Joan in her final years. We would also like to thank the kind staff at Compassus Hospice for their support for Joan in her last days.