Ratiu was born on May 4, 1916, in Scalp Level, Pennsylvania, in the United States, one of the four sons of Elisabeta Chindriş and Grigore Raţiu, immigrants from Romania.
Doamna Elisabeta Movilă (fl. 1620) was a Princess consort of Moldavia by marriage to Ieremia Movilă.
He also participated in tours on the protected cruiser NMS Elisabeta on the Black Sea, the Mediterranean and the Adriatic.