Rachel Marian Lake

Rachel Lake, 83 years young, quietly passed away in her sleep on March 29, 2015 at her home in Lake Forest Park, WA. She was born in St. Maries, Idaho on January 22, 1932 to Mary Louise and Albert Wilfred Fields. Her family endured hardships during the Great Depression resulting in several relocations through Idaho and Montana, before they finally settled in the greater Spokane, WA area. There she received her diploma from North Central High School in 1949 and continued on to college.

Rachel began working at the Crescent Department Store in the auditing department and then the Carnation Milk Company in Spokane while she attended Whitworth College, where she received her first degree. She returned to college a year later to obtain an education degree after discovering her fondness for working with children after becoming a Cub Scout Leader for a small group of boys; she landed her first teaching job at Loma Vista Elementary in Spokane.

Rachel moved to Seattle two years later where she joined the Shoreline School District, teaching from 1957 - 1988. During her illustrious career of 31 years she taught various grade levels between elementary, middle, and finally, at the high school level. She began at the elementary level at Briarcrest, Hamlin Park, Cedarbrook, Meridian, and finally at Hillwood Elementary. She moved to Kellogg Middle School for several years before finishing her career at Shorewood High School, where she taught history, English, and Business. Rachel served as the Shoreline Education Association president in 1976-77, and for another 4 years beginning in 1979, and was given the honor of Shoreline Teacher of the Year in 1986-87.

After retiring from the Shoreline Schools Rachel served as administrative assistant for the Shoreline Education Association, was on the WA Education Association (WEA) Board of Directors, and then became a WEA member lobbyist. Her community service activities included serving as chair of the 32nd District Democrats for seven years, being a Washington State Elector in the 2000 presidential election, and a founding member and President of the Alpha Delta chapter of ADK International Honorary for Women Educators. She concluded her extracurricular activities by serving as a member of the American Association of University Women, Bothell-Shoreline.

Rachel fell in love with a young man from Port Angeles in 1957 and married Kenneth Fletcher Lake Sr. in 1958. They just celebrated their 57th wedding anniversary. Rachel brought two sons into this world starting with Kenneth Jr. in 1959 and David in 1967. Additional surviving family include daughters-in-law Cheryl and Nancy; grandchildren Darby, Emily, Hannah, and Elinor; and great-grandchildren Olivia and Alicia Brennan.

Rachel was a very generous lady who loved family and friends, enjoyed gardening, cooking, politics, genealogy, and travelling - when possible. A quote that she lived her life by was "Life's difficulties and challenges make one strong¦They build one's character." We always knew her to say "This too, shall pass!"