A longtime Fort Worth businessman and civic leader died at age 68.
William Jackson “Jack” Rattikin III, president and CEO of family-owned Rattikin Title Co., the oldest and largest title company in Fort Worth, died Feb. 9 surrounded by his family.
Rattikin grew up at the namesake Fort Worth business founded in 1945 by his grandfather Jack Rattikin Sr. and later led by his father Jack Rattikin Jr. In 1983, Rattikin joined the company after graduating from Texas Tech University School of Law and the University of Texas at Austin School of Business. He was promoted to escrow officer in 1985 and later company president in 1999. He added the CEO title in 2004.
Rattikin III was a respected leader in the title industry like his father, grandfather and brother. He was former president of both the Texas Land Title Association and the America Land Title Association.
“We’re only the first three-generation family in the title insurance industry to have been president of both the Texas and American Land Title Associations,” Rattikin III told the Fort Worth Report in October 2024. “You had to contribute to your industry and help lead the industry. That’s sort of expected.”
Rattikin III received the Texas Land Title Association’s Title Man of the Year award in 2005.
His death comes about 16 months after his father died in October 2024.
The title company has a set of comprehensive records of property transfers in Tarrant County going back to 1845, the year Texas became a state.
Rattikin also served on the boards of numerous Fort Worth-area civic and business groups, including Lena Pope Home, Cook Children’s Health Foundation and the Alliant National Title Insurance Co. board of governors.
The American Land Title Association said Rattikin was an industry leader whose service over several decades helped shape his company and the industry.
“Jack was a devoted leader in the title industry and served with distinction on both the state and national levels,” ALTA organization officials said in a statement. “As the third generation to serve as president and CEO of Rattikin Title and president of both TLTA and ALTA, he carried forward a family legacy of service, helping to preserve and protect the future of the industry he loved.”
Rattikin believed legacy was more than a family tradition, ALTA officials said.
“As the title insurance industry remembers Jack Rattikin III, it is fitting to reflect on the continuity he embodied,” ALTA CEO Chris Morton said in a statement. “The unbroken thread from Rattikin Sr. to Rattikin Jr., and then to Jack Rattikin III will endure in the values and traditions he championed throughout his life. Jack’s legacy, however, was not defined by lineage alone. He was a trusted friend, a generous mentor and a principled leader whose integrity shaped every room he entered. He believed deeply in the core values that define the title insurance industry. Those of us who had the privilege to work alongside him saw firsthand his humility, his quiet strength and his unwavering dedication to doing what was right. His example will continue to guide our industry for generations to come.”
Officials at the Texas Land Title Association echoed similar statements.
“Jack’s leadership, dedication, and friendship left a lasting mark on TLTA and on the many people fortunate enough to work alongside him,” TLTA officials said. “He was loved and respected by his title industry friends and colleagues, and he will be deeply missed.”
Leslie Midgley, TLTA’s executive vice president and CEO, said the loss of Rattikin is profound for the TLTA family.
“The importance of legacy was never lost on him,” Midgley said in a statement. “Family, tradition and loyalty were always his sources of inspiration and purpose.
Equally as important, she said, was just being around him.
“Jack was just a great guy — caring, humble and fun to be around. His presence will be deeply missed, but as we grieve his loss, we will also celebrate the legacy of his leadership, and most of all, his treasured friendship,” she said.
Rattikin served in industry leadership roles, including service on the education, regulatory, nominating, finance and federal issues committees. He served as TLTA president from 2002-03 and served as president of ALTA from 2022-23.
Rattikin was born Jan. 31, 1958, in Fort Worth to parents Glenda and Jack Rattikin Jr. He graduated from R.L. Paschal High School, where he was on the golf team. Later, at UT Austin, Rattikin was a member of the Kappa Alpha fraternity and was a dedicated Longhorn football fan.
He was a longtime member of Christ Chapel Bible Church, where he loved the ministry and music.
Rattikin also enjoyed spending time with relatives and friends at the family’s beach house in Destin, Florida. There, his life was filled with memories that family members said they will cherish.
In addition to his wife, Laura Miller Rattikin, he is survived by two children, Cameron Jackson Rattikin and Courtney Rattikin Johnsen; brother, Jeff Rattikin; sisters, Alicia Lindsey and Allyson Grona; granddaughter Olivia Johnsen as well as nieces and nephews.
Visitation for Rattikin III will be from 5-7 p.m. Feb. 18 at Thompson Harveson Cole Funeral Home, 4350 River Oaks Blvd. in Fort Worth. A celebration of his life will be at 1 p.m. Feb. 19 at Christ Chapel Bible Church, 3701 Birchman Ave. in Fort Worth.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be given to the Gladney Center, Lena Pope Home and Cook Children’s Medical Center.
Eric E. Garcia is senior business reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at eric.garcia@fortworthreport.org.
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