Ratmini passed away on 1 October 2022, at the age of 96,  at her home in Jakarta. She is remembered as a pioneer and teacher of art, textile and fashion design, as well as a lover of beauty, a sower of warmth.

Ratmini was born in Jakarta on November 18, 1925. She is the third child of Sudirman Gandasubrata and Satinah, who came from Banyumas. Her father, Sudirman, was a judge at the District Court ( Land Raad ), who in his retirement was fond of making batik designs. Her mother, Satinah, excelled in batik-making and sewing kebaya and patchwork blankets. Ratmini was educated in Javanese culture, but was raised to be fluent in Dutch as well.

In 1942, Ratmini entered a teacher's training school in Surabaya, at OSVO ( Opleiding School Voor Vak Onderwijzeressen - which later became the Women's Home Economics Teacher’s School). However, she had to leave school when the Japanese troops entered Java, her parents asked her to return to Banyumas. After Indonesia's independence was recognized by the Dutch in December 1949 with the deliberations during the Roundtable Conference, the name OSVO was changed to Sekolah Guru Kepandaian Puteri. Ratmini entered Course B1, which was an advanced course to educate teachers for two years. At the same time, Ratmini taught at SGKP Jakarta, focusing on drawing. In 1953, Ratmini received a scholarship to study at IKNO ( Institut voor Kunstnijverheids Onderwijs, Institute for Art & Crafts Education) for visual arts teacher education in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

In 1957, Ratmini married Soedjatmoko. For more than 30 years together, Ratmini accompanied Soedjatmoko on official trips to foreign countries. From Nairobi, Egypt, Iran, and others, Ratmini always left the comfort of the hotel accommodation to explore trails and make sketches which she then painted. She captured landscapes and scenes of humanity.

While living in the US with Soedjatmoko, she took an interior decorating course at Cornell University. She also was an apprentice to the famous New York jewelry maker, Sam Kramer. With the assignment of Soedjatmoko as the Indonesian Ambassador, Ratmini and their three children (Kamala, Isna, and Galuh) went to Washington DC. There, Ratmini studied painting at the Corcoran School of Art, Washington DC and learned to make jewelry (silver and gold) with a jeweler named Denyse Touchette.

Upon her return to Indonesia, Ratmini managed a Q&A column on social ettiquette in Femina Magazine entitled “Bu Mini Answers” , Ratmini s active as a member of PAPMI (Association of Experts on Indonesian Fashion Designers). She was once chosen as one of the "Best Dressed Woman" . Ratmini also teaches a course in modeling and social etiquette.

Ratmini founded a group of nine female artists under the name Group Sembilan which held annual exhibitions at Taman Ismail Marzuki and various other galleries.

With the whole family, Ratmini left for Tokyo when Soedjatmoko became Rector of the United Nations University (1980-1988). There, Ratmini learned to paint Japanese style or sumie from a teacher named Shoko Ohta. Ratmini also learned the Japanese art of flower arrangement, ikebana, at the Ohara school. She held a solo exhibition of her Japanese-style paintings at the International House of Japan, Tokyo. She then returned to Indonesia after Soedjatmoko's tenure at the United Nations University.

When Soedjatmoko passed away in 1989, Ratmini began to build a new life without her beloved husband. During this time, Ratmini continued to paint and also wrote several books, including:

o 1993: Puspawarna Wastra Bali , co-written with Anak Agung Muter and Ratmini https://www.nlb.gov.sg/biblio…

o 1994: How should it be? A Popular Guide on Manners, written with Raharty Subijakto and Suryatini N. Ganie https://opac.perpusnas.go.id/…

Ratmini held a solo exhibition entitled “Retrospective of Ratmini's Paintings” at TIM (Taman Ismail Marzuki) in 1995; In 2002, Ratmini exhibited four paintings at en exhibition entitled “Women in the Realm of Spirituality” at Gregoriana University, Rome, Italy, along with 16 other Indonesian women artists. Together with Herawaty Diah and Mien Soedarpo, Ratmini formed the “ Diah Dance Group ” (a poco-poco group) to practice and perform. With her friends, Ratmini built the “ Asta Dasa Guna ” community, a peer-support group for elderly people over the age of 80 who are determined to continue to be useful for the nation.

Ratmini was one of the founders and member of the jury of the Bung Hatta Anti-Corruption Award. She wrote and illustrated a book "A Pendopo in the Serayu Valley" --the story of the Banyumas Regent's family and its history from generation to generation, from Jaka Kahiman to Gandasubrata.

In 2015, Ratmini published the book “Ratmini: 90 Years of Navigating the Ocean of Life” and published a collection of illustrated recipes entitled " Curation of Recipes by Ratmini: Mama's Recipes, Collection of Favorite Recipes" .

Throughout her life, Ratmini nurtured the talents and creativity of her daughters and grandchildren, as well as hundreds of her students, friends and family, many of whom feel that she is their Ibu Mini. She is beloved to them and they are her legacy.

She is survived by her daughters and their husbands: Kamala Chandrakirana dan Scott Guggenheim; Isna Marifa dan Didi Sjadzali; Galuh Wandita dan Patrick Burgess. Her grandchildren: Danya Adhalia Sjadzali dan Miko Ginting; Banu Karim Sjadzali; Samitra Dian Burgess; Liam Satya Burgess; And her great-grandson Arunya Sinisura Ginting

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