When my friend and I were stranded in Manhattan on 9/11, Rachel took us in, even though she already had a house full of company.  Instead of stressing out, she took the little boys into her own bedroom, kicked the toys out of the way in their room, brushed the cookie crumbs off the sheets and made us welcome for as long as we needed to stay.  It was our first visit to the big city, and we were feeling more than a little  traumatized. Rachel’s warm embrace into her home made us believe that the world really could be right again. 

We were only cousins by marriage, but I will always love Rachel and her extended family as my own. I will forever share their heartache. 

Always one of my very favorite cousins, at times she was like an older sister to me.  I always looked up to her and she was invariably kind and helpful.  In some of my darkest days she was a lifeline.  She was calm and accepting in moments when I felt wild and alone.  She is inedible in the story of my becoming the best of who I am.

We miss you, dear sweet Rachel - you left us too soon.  We will cherish the precious memories of you and bestow compassionate love and understanding on Isobel, Dylan and Zachary.

I’m so sorry for your tremendous loss.  I lived down the street from Rachel growing up, and went to Villa Maria with her as well. She was pure joy, and had the most wonderful smile.  May she rest in perfect peace.

I met Rachel in 6th grade.  I was not the best student so school was a little scary  for me.  One day I came into home room and Rachel and my desk were together, just the two of us.  At first I was a little nervous, we hadn’t really talked yet.  The minute we started talking I was so comfortable with her and I knew I found a friend.  We spent as much time together as we could.  Rachel, our friend Holly and I spent days playing croquet, Acey Ducey, Badminton, we would  sleep  out in tents  in each other’s yard and walked miles around our neighborhood in Youngstown.  Some of my very best childhood memories were spent with the Jones family.  I’m sure they never knew. 
I lost track of Rachel for a long time, after 9th grade.  I just recently had some contact w her on Facebook! I was so looking forward to reconnecting.  This news is so heartbreaking on so many different levels.  She will always have a special place in my heart. That beautiful smile and that warm heart. ❤️ Rest well.
My beautiful friend.

Isobel, Dylan, Zack and the rest of the family. I sit here with tears in my eyes. I just saw Rachel 3 weeks ago and told her how great she was looking and she seemed like her old self again. I really loved hanging out with her. We had so much fun. Camping and kayaking..almost sinking until Kenny saved us. lol  We raced the whole river because we didn't want to get struck by lightening, even though everyone else seemed to take their time. The  Halloween parade where we were "The Island of Misfit Toys" with Kenny dragging off the back as "Weekend at Bernies". Rest in Peace my friend and my thoughts are with all of you, her family who she cherished so deeply. I will miss you.

Rachel was a great friend of mine. As I got to learn many things from her as well as get yelled at to do homework as I was in the same grade with her son Dylan I could never get away with not doing it. As I got older and got to work along side of Rachel at an after school program, I will say she had such a great heart. I will never forget all the memories we had and shared and all the things Rachel has taught me over several years. Just another life taken way too soon. I hadn't spoken to her in a while unfortunately but I will always have you in heart and spirit. Rachel, May you Rest in the sweetest peace and may you continue to look back down on all of those that loved, cared, and cherished you during your life here on earth. May the great creator welcome you with open arms in the gates of Heaven and may you take with you the memories and the love of everyone here on earth. Until we meet again one day, Rest in peace my friend ~ AP

My deepest condolences to Rachel’s beloved children and family. Rachel was a person of tremendous depth. It was what immediately drew me to her when we first met and became instant friends so many years ago. I share in her family’s sorrow and will forever miss my dear friend. 

My oldest friend.  So many memories, too many to list- I wouldn't know where to begin.  I'll be forever saddened that you were taken in the prime of your life.  RIP my friend.

oops...my story didn't quite complete from the prior post....here is the finish of that story ....sorry....
In addition to the regular lunch, there was a salad bar that was an additional fee.  I showed Rachel how to go to that special salad bar and act like nothing was out of the ordinary (without paying the fee, of course) and add shredded cheese to her vegetable soup.  Of course Rachel laughed and laughed and followed my lead.  Years later she told me she still loved adding shredded cheddar cheese to her vegetable soup.  I don’t know why I felt so honored that she took my lead in this little bit of mischief but it was some sort of teenage girls bond that life-long friends have.  
     Rachel was just such a special person.  No one can ever replace her shining light.  I will always miss her.  The world will forever be less colorful to me.  


I can’t explain this hazy fog that has enveloped me ever since I got the news about Rachel.  It is just mind boggling that she is gone from this earth.  Just beyond any ability that I can conceive of a loss so great.  How can this be?  She was such a force...an incredibly intelligent beautiful creative butterfly that we were all so lucky to have the delight of knowing.  I feel so blessed that she considered me a friend.  It was like a badge of honor to be a friend of Rachel. I never felt I deserved it, but for whatever reason, she felt that I did.  Getting Rachel’s approval on any little thing meant the world to me.  It didn’t matter what it was for...but to get her approval was a VERY big deal.    It may seem like a very trivial little story, but I wanted to tell of a happy random memory that I have of our school lunches in highschool.  It was on a particularly cold winter day.  I believe it was in 10th grade.  We had to hike what seemed like a very long trek up the hill to the lunch room that was in a basement on the south end of the Villa Maria campus.  It was one of those depressingly gray overcast Pennsylvania winters where all bright color was missing from the world. Everything was gray. The dark overcast gray sky, our grey uniforms and dark navy jackets added to the colorless afternoon.   Large salt crystals sprinkled the pathway of gray melting snow which was pushed away to make a path for us to walk and not completely ruin our Docksider shoes.  It sounds so bleak and ominous.    The thing that made it all bearable was that I had my friends by my side. My bright shiny beautiful colorful friends.   I felt like the world was meant to be conquered and we were able to find joy and laughter and joked about the silliest things.
     The menu that day was vegetable beef soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.  In my semi-eccentric way of doing things, I got my tray of soup and sandwich.  In addition to the regular lunch, there was a salad bar that was an additional fee

I was classmates with Rachel at Villa Maria High School. We were a very small class in an all girls Catholic  High School. We were very close; we all loved Rachel dearly and we are mourning this sudden loss of her life too short on the brinks of new chapters in her life. Our deepest sympathies go out to all of her family and friends at this time. You are in our thoughts and prayers. Here is a little collage of us; the top pictures are from High School and the bottom are from a reunion that Rachel made it to about 12 years ago. May she Rest In Peace.

I am Rachel’s classmate from Villa Maria High School. I wanted to share a collage I made; a couple of pictures from High School and some from the reunion that Rachel made it to about 12 years ago.

I went to Villa Maria HS with Rachel. I lived in the dorm and she was a “day hop.” Though we had not kept in touch over the years; we were very close during those years. In addition to being classmates at Villa Maria HS; Rachel and I spent some time at Chautauqua Lake where I spent my summers and where Rachel and her family vacationed. Rachel was wonderful friend to me; she was a loving and insightful person and lots of fun as well.  We lost a classmate our junior year to cancer; we were all so heartbroken by this; it was particularly hard on a couple of us who were so close to her. Rachel chose a beautiful poem to read at her funeral; it’s printed in our yearbook along with that classmate’s picture. A loss like this at that age can bind you even closer. I saw Rachel about a decade ago at a HS reunion. She had not changed a lot; she was warm; friendly; and lighthearted, she seemed to be happy. More recently we reconnected on FB. Last November my husband was very sick and I was very scared. Rachel messaged me that I was always the strong one amongst us. She said “ You’ve got this Amy.” I was very touched by that and felt a connection to my Villa Sister who I had not seen or had frequent contact with for so long. She emerged amongst our classmates as she moved though her divorce proceedings with such excitement about the next chapters of her life.  How devastating for all of you who she leaves behind; my deepest sympathies to you. Please know that her Villa Sisters are very sad about this; we have such fond memories of her. We can’t imagine your loss; we want you to know that you are in our thoughts and prayers. May she Rest In Peace.  

OBITUARY

Rachel Frances Wimer

2 March, 1964 – 12 September, 2019

Wanamaker & Carlough Funeral Home

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