The Reverend Richard S. Radtke was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He began his studies for the holy ministry at Concordia High School and Junior College in Milwaukee, and received the Bachelor of Arts degree from Concordia Senior College in Fort Wayne. Pastor Radtke then attended Concordia Theological Seminary in Springfield, Illinois, and graduated in 1968 with the degree of Master of Divinity.

After his graduation from the seminary, Pastor Radtke was ordained into the holy ministry at Walther Memorial Lutheran Church in Milwaukee, his home congregation. Two weeks later, he was installed as Assistant Pastor of St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Ann Arbor, Michigan. While serving St. Paul's, he met his wife, Carole, who taught second grade at the day school and was the church organist. They were married the following summer.

In 1970, Pastor and Carole Radtke moved to Lawrenceburg, Indiana, where he served Bethlehem Lutheran Church. In 1973 they moved to Plainfield, Indiana, where he was pastor of St. Luke's Lutheran Church. After three years, the Lord called Pastor Radtke to serve Immanuel Lutheran Church in Seymour, Indiana, as Associate Pastor. Then in 1980, the Radtke family, now numbering four, moved to Fort Wayne, where Pastor Radtke was called as Associate Pastor and later as eighth Senior Pastor of historic St. Paul's Lutheran Church, founded in 1837, and a charter congregation of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod.

In addition to his parish duties, Pastor Radtke also serves as First Vice President of the Indiana District of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod. He is on the Board of Directors of The Lutheran Foundation, which was created by the sale of the former Lutheran Hospital of Fort Wayne.

Pastor and Carole Radtke have two daughters, both of whom are married, and two granddaughters.