John Raatjes of Macomb, a World War II veteran and former history professor at Western Illinois University, died on his 79th birthday, Friday, May 24, in a Macomb hospital, apparently of a heart attack. Born and raised in the Roseland neighborhood of Chicago, Mr. Raatjes worked in the same steel mill as his father before enlisting in 1942, said his wife, Rene. During World War II, he served in Army Air Forces as an aircraft recognition instructor at bases around the United States. He first traveled to Europe after he enrolled in Roosevelt University and studied for a year in Zurich. He earned a degree in history from Roosevelt and a doctorate in European history from the University of Illinois, along the way studying at two German universities. In 1952 he married the former Rene Paule, and in 1959 he began teaching European history at Western Illinois, where his focus was modern German history. Mr. Raatjes had a reputation as a tough professor. “He really enjoyed challenging students to think,” his wife said. After retiring in 1975, he served as regional director of the Board of Governors Degree Program for two years before settling into his longtime hobby of keeping and training harness horses. The couple would travel to watch them race at Chicago tracks and at county fairs, his wife said. From 1985 to 1989, he also wrote and published a series of booklets on trends in the care and training of horses. In addition to his wife, Mr. Raatjes is survived by a sister, Clare Larson. Services are scheduled for 11:30 a.m. June 22 in Mt. Hope Cemetery, 115th Street and Fairfield Avenue, Chicago.
