Marilyn and Gary Ratkin, both WashU alumni, received the 2026 Jane and Whitney Harris St. Louis Community Service Award during a June 23 luncheon at the Whittemore House.
Mary McKay, who was then executive vice provost, presented the award which honors the legacy of the late Jane and Whitney Harris and their advocacy for community service.
“I’d like to take a moment to thank Marilyn and Gary for their decades of service to St. Louis and its people,” McKay said. “The two of you have given your time and energy, as well as your hard-won expertise as professionals and as civic leaders.”
Established in 2000, the annual award recognizes couples who contribute to the culture and welfare of the greater St. Louis region in an outstanding manner. This year, the Harris Award committee selected the Ratkins in recognition of their years of service to the community.
“As many of us have experienced, when you serve your community, you receive far more in return,” Gary Ratkin said while accepting the award. “We feel deeply grateful for the opportunity to have been actively engaged in the St. Louis community for so many decades.”
About Marilyn Ratkin
Marilyn Ratkin began her career as an elementary school teacher and marketing professional before moving into the nonprofit world.
She worked as a project director for the National Health Screening Council, where she planned and administered health screening and education programs across St. Louis. She then served for over a decade as domestic issues director of the Jewish Community Relations Council, overseeing social action projects including the Rabbi Robert P. Jacobs Jewish Fund for Human Needs.
Ratkin served as a board member of the National Council of Jewish Women, where she helped create the Healing Hearts Bank. The bank provides low-interest loans to survivors of domestic violence.
Continuing her service to the community, Ratkin serves as an impact lab facilitator at the St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum. She also volunteers as a childhood literacy advocate for Ready Readers, a regional organization that facilitates literacy programming for early-childhood classrooms with limited resources. She is a former board member for the organization and now serves on the advisory committee.
Ratkin was selected by Focus St. Louis to participate in its 2008-09 Leadership St. Louis program. She has been recognized with several awards for her community service efforts, including an Unsung Hero award from the St. Louis Jewish Light in 2010 and a Women of Achievement award in 2018. The Ratkins received the Tzedek Award from Congregation Saare Emeth in 2022 in honor of their commitment to social justice.
A WashU alumna, Ratkin earned a bachelor’s degree in education in 1966 from Arts & Sciences. She also earned a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
About Gary Ratkin
Gary Ratkin earned his medical degree from WashU in 1967 and then completed his residency and fellowship at WashU Medicine. He previously earned a bachelor’s degree in American history from Rice University.
He started his practice in hematology-oncology at the former Barnes Hospital and The Jewish Hospital of St. Louis before joining the Missouri Baptist Cancer Center, where he served as medical director. He is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, a fellow of the American College of Physicians, and an active member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and American Society of Hematology.
Ratkin continues to serve as a voluntary clinical professor of medicine at WashU Medicine. He currently practices primary-care medicine at Casa de Salud, a low-cost clinic for uninsured patients. In addition, he mentors fourth-year medical students from WashU Medicine and Saint Louis University as part of a weekly outpatient clinic.
As a leader in the cancer-care space, he has served as chair of the cancer committees at Barnes-Jewish Hospital for over 20 years; was chair of the clinical practice committee of the American Society of Clinical Oncology; and served as volunteer medical director of the palliative care program at Missouri Baptist Medical Center.
Within the St. Louis Jewish community, Ratkin volunteers at the Harvey Kornblum Jewish Food Pantry and serves as an educator at the St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum, leading tours for students and the general public.
He also received an Unsung Hero award from the St. Louis Jewish Light as well as a WashU Medicine Alumni Association Achievement Award in 2017.
The couple has two daughters, Kimberlee Ratkin, MBA ’95 (David Dieffenbacher, MBA ’95), and Stephani Ratkin Becker (David Becker), along with five grandchildren.
Harris Award recipients are honored with a cash gift made in their name to St. Louis-area charitable organizations of their choice. The Ratkins’ award will support Casa de Salud, Congregation Shaare Emeth, Ready Readers, the St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum and the National Council of Jewish Women St. Louis.
For more information on the award and how to submit a nomination, email harrisprize@wustl.edu.
