The Ratz family was a prominent Mennonite family hailing from the Kitchener-Waterloo area. John Ratz was the first of the family to be born in Canada. He purchased a farm in Elmira in 1855 and was eventually elected the first Reeve of Elmira in 1887. John Ratz was a miller and owner of the Ratz Brothers Company as well as having a large amount of real-estate in the Elmira area. John Ratz had 10 children including George Ratz who was married to Clara Dunke in 1863 and had 6 children. One of these children, Elmer Ratz, was the executor to the estates of John, Clara, and George. Elmer was also brother to Herbert Ratz.

Ratz attended the Hamilton Central Collegiate Institute. He graduated with a B.A.Sc. in engineering physics from the University of Toronto, before obtaining an M.Sc. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Ratz married Jean Isabel Fairles (?-1999) at Ryerson United Church on July 23.