"There are some who bring light so great to the world that even after they have Gone the light remains."- Leigh Standley
Rachel, or as I have always known her, Grammy, is a great light that will continue to glow long after her passing. Rachel entered this world on May 31, 1926, to Vergil C. George and Mayme L Sartin George; the youngest of five. Rachel grew up on a farm in Jett, Ok, where at a young age she climbed on her daddie's lap and asked for a violin. That was the start of a wonderful violin career. Rachel's family all had musical skills and would play together on many occasions. Rachel and her two older sisters, Virginia and Evelyn, would all play in the school band together. When they were dressed in their band costumes, they would easily pass as triplets. Rachel's older brothers, Leonard and Ed were on the sidelines cheering them on.
As a family, they watched the Dust Bowl destroy their beloved farm land, but they survived and endured through Great Depression that followed. This was always a subject favorite to hear the many stories of now family and community came together through this time. One that stands out, is how Rachel's father was the bus drivers for the area. Whether it was to make a few extra dollars or because he had 3 daughter on the bus, Rachel always knew she had a watchful eye on her. Good or bad, Rachel saw her father was always looking out for his girls.
In 1942 was a year of new beginnings, and new starts. There was a graduation from Jett High School. Then later in the year, Rachel would marry Lloyd Boyd Coleman. This first started 1939, for it was love at first site for LB when he saw Rachel. When they married, America had already entered into WW II. LB was a fighter pilot for the army in the CBI Theater, flying a P-47 named "Rachel." Rachel became a teletype operator at the Signal Office of the Pueblo Air Base in Colorado. Rachel was able to type an impressive 65 wpm, which happened to be the machine's max. Another topic for bedtime stories is listening to the war efforts of Rachel and the other wives. In one of the war efforts, there was a need for cottonpickers. Rachel and a few other military wives decided to help pick cotton in the fields- for the war, of course. Needless to say their efforts got them about a half pound of cotton in a 8 hour day, amounting to .25 to .50 net value. As it turned out, their effort didn't amount to much, but they all walked away with a greater appreciation for those that do this position. The war continued on for the next 3 years.
After the war, many new starts in life. Rachel and LB embarked on a successful construction company out of Loveland, CO. Then on March 3, 1948, the apple of their eye was born, Colette Coleman.
Soon after that, moves to Golden, Co and then into Wheat Ridge, Co., where Rachel and LB build an amazing custom home. Rachel found a calling for 15 years at the School of Mines, in Golden CO. Rachel was Secretary to the Dean of Graduate School, and Faculty Research Development; which included international symposia, AID (Agency for International Development). Rachel enjoyed being on the front lines of projects that took her to all over the nation and allowed her the ability to welcome foreign students to Colorado. One story that always gave me a chuckle. Rachel needed to pick up 3 students from Africa at Stapleton Airport, ( the original Denver airport), in her very tiny convertible vehicle. Rachel mentioned that she didn't quite take into consideration their origin and her vehicle choice. It was quite interesting in deciding who got to choose the front seat. Fortunately for Rachel, they all found it quite comical, and thought Rachel was an excellent host in her sporty "American" car.
Around the late 1950s, Rachel decided it was time to take her violin out from under her bed, and starting taking lessons from a violinist she has seen on TV, Edmondo Ruggieri. After all of her time of practicing, practicing, and practicing, Rachel found herself playing for the likes of the Civic Orchestra of Golden in 1961. Venturing to Phillips University in Ok, in 1967, where Rachel played in the 2nd section violin for the production of My Fair Lady. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Rachel was invited to do many solo's for church's in Golden, CO, Lakewood, Co, and in the city of Denver, CO. Other violin solo projects included The Wednesday Music Club, The Golden Kiwanians Club, and other private events. Rachel said her greatest challenges was playing solo pieces at the funeral of both her parents. Fast forward to the 1990s, in which Rachel got to enjoy playing violin with her granddaughter Jennifer Lee (Me). A memory that we would both talk about quite frequently. I, Jennifer, enjoyed having the experience of my Grammy to help me get through my high school Orchestra. A memory Grammy shared with me of her favorite violin solos is when she played Meditation from Thais. I am not sure of when this solo piece was played, but I enjoyed watching her watch other violist play this piece. I could see her playing the violin in her eyes.
In 1962, Rachel's father had a stroke, in which she stayed by his bedside. Rachel said that her father had a discipline through her formative years that she tired to circumvent; with maturity came the recognition that they were buddies. Rachel was 38 when her father passed away. And the world had stopped.
Rachel, LB, and Colette enjoyed many family vacations through out the USA, where they watch their daughter grow up before their eyes. Spend much time in Oklahoma with Aunts, Uncles and many many cousins. Next thing Rachel knew, Colette was graduating Wheat Ridge HS in 1966. Then in the next year, Colette married. In 1968, the night Bobby Kennedy was assassinated, LB said, "All it takes to change your life is a phone call". Rachel received that phone call 4 days later. LB was in a motorcycle accident and was unable to recover from his injuries. LB passed June 10, 1968.
A ray of sun light came through on April 21, 1969 with the birth of Anthony Lloyd Miscedra, first grandson for Rachel.
Also in 1969 came a cruise to Tahiti, which Rachel was vacationing as a member of the English Speaking Union from Denver AND Chicago. Rachel found her way on the dance floor with Edwin Reinholtzen, where they danced to the song "Could I Have This Dance", and Rachel fell in love. I think Edwin did too, for they were married 3 weeks later in Chicago. Rachel moved into Edwin's home in Evanston, IL.
Rachel discovered she was blessed with a new family. Edwin came fully stocked with kids, and grandkids, which grew to great grandkids, and at the end of Rachel's life, a great great grand daughter. Rachel felt Edwin's daughters, Gail and Roberta, were like girlfriends. Rachel enjoyed the little feet to not so little feet of Gail and Ted Struve's sons, Matthew and Clayton; and Roberta Reeme's children, Tammy, Jody, Brian, and Jeremy.
Over time how the families have grown.
Gail's Children: Clay who married Donna, and they had daughter Ashling and son Owen. Owen who married Molly in 2011. Ashling who married Joseph Bourgot, 2017. Ashling became step-daughter to Ariel Bourgot, and MadiBelle Bourgot born 2018. Matthew who married Susan. They have 3 daughters. Juliana (1993), Natalie (1998), and Kathrine (2003).
Roberts Children: Tammi who married Glen Glavor. Jodi married Steve Albertson. They have a son, Peder. Brian who lives in Florida, and the baby Jeremy, who lives in Atlanta, GA.
Rachel volunteered to help with Edwin's dental office, thinking this would be a temporary position. Dential assistance temp job lasted for 14 years. Having no prior experience in dentistry, the only direction she could go is up in improving her knowledge of the human mouth. Rachel enjoyed the dentist office in the Pittsfield Building where they had a view of Lake Michigan. At times, it was almost distracting watching the sail boats on the Lake.
Edwin also exposed Rachel to sailing. A brand new experience for Rachel for the most she had ever been on a boat was fishing with her father on a "small" lake. The same as Dentistry, Rachel took to the water, and to sailing as if she had been doing this her whole life. Edwin and Rachel spent many weekends and summers sailing on Lake Michgian, on his boat which was name "Rachel". In 1977, Rachel and Edwin joined together to buy and develop land on Lake Bull Shoals in Ark. They build a home there and enjoyed the spring and falls in the foothills of the Ozarks. They sold this home away from home in Jan., 1991.
In the early 1980s, Rachel and Edwin enjoyed flying very very far west for the winters. They enjoyed 9 winters in a condo in Hawaii. Rachel enjoyed helping at the Hawaiian Open Golf Tournament as a Marshall, which meant she held the "QUIET PLEASE" sign. The never ending sunsets, beaches, whales, surfings, friends and food, made it hard to say goodbye. In 1992, they exchanged their Hawaii condo for one south in Jupiter, Florida. Quickly they made dear friends, and had new places to explore. It was wonderful that there was a beach a block away from their new condo.
Rachel and Edwin again exchanged their home in Evanston, IL for an apartment at Edgewater Beach Apartments in Chicago, in 1987. They enjoyed views of Lake Michigan, Lincoln Park, downtown Chicago, and the Navy Pier. Rachel stayed in that apartment until 2011.
During this time Rachel welcomed a Granddaughter, Jennifer Lee on March 4, 1980. Several trips to Denver to see both of her grands kids.
In 1981, tragedy struck, hitting right at home base. Rachel's mother, Mayme was severely burned in a household accident. The 5 George siblings came together, and sadly watched their mother passed away. Death was a gift at this point in dealing with her burns. In 1996, Rachel became a breast cancer survivor, where she was fortunate to have stayed in remission the rest of her life. With just one phone call, sadness hit Rachel's heart again. The phone call shared devastating new of the death of her Grandson, Anthony, on May 28, 1988 at the age of 19. Anthony was a victim of a drunk driving accident the morning of graduation from high school. A time of celebration quickly turned to grief.
In 1994, came the death of her beloved brother Ed. Ed had suffered a stroke sometime before this death and complications from the stroke didnt help. In 1996, an unexpected surprised came into their lives. He was small, feathered, and sung beautifully. That was their bird, Sweetpea. He brought love and meaning to Rachel's life up until the end. He even traveled around in between Chicago and Jupiter. Sweetpea as now is sharing the remainder of his life with Granddaughter, Jennifer, in Colorado.
In 2002, Rachel suffered 2 loses of ones she loved. First, her sister Evelyn. Evelyn had lost her fight to cancer. Then in October, Rachel loses the second love of her life, Edwin at the age of 95. Rachel helped Edwin live his life to the fullest while he was dealing with Alzheimer's. She demonstrated this by encouraging his love for creating art, whether he was painting or making jewelry and pottery. Rachel would take Edwin to their favorite restaurants, host /attend parties, and frequent the theater production's. In his parting left a deep hole in her heart and her life.
Rachel enjoyed traveling with LB around the United States, with their daughter, Colette. Rachel was able to travel to Czechoslovakia when the Congresses were being held just before the great upheaval in 1968. Rachel's passport at that time included travels to England, Ireland, Germany, and Austria. Edwin and Rachel enjoyed the cruising life, where the destinations come to you. The places they visited on their cruises included: The Florida Keys, Bahamas, Caribeean, West Indies, Alaska, and the Panama Canel. The most thrilling cruise was a cruise from Bergen, Norway to the Russian broader at Kirkenes. Rachel surprised Edwin for his 90th birthday, a cruise for the whole family in March, 1997. Best 3 day cruise ever, with lots of laughs, views of the ocean, and food. Rachel took Edwin on his last cruise at 93 in 2000, and it didn't disappoint. A 23 day cruise to the Mediterranean and to Spain.
Sometime after the passing of her husband, Rachel learned to gain a new perspective on life. Started taking classes at a university in Florida, and working on her computer skills. Emailing and surfing the net was a regular part of Rachel's life. Rachel's dear friend, Judie St. Croix, whom Rachel has known from her days in Hawaii, invited Grammy on a deep sea fishing adventure, that included zip-lining. On Rachel's very first fishing excursion in 2004, lead to Rachel catching a Marlin as big as she was. From that moment on, she found her new hobby. Rachel went on to catch a Tuna, Sail Fish, plus many more. Catching the tuna lead to Rachel being in a national fishing magazine, and the 3 "large" fish were the inspiration for her tattoos. Rachel enjoyed fishing excursions in Jupiter, Fl with Captian Tony, and her "boy toys." The boy toys where Stuart Spector, wife Noreen, and Bruce Fitzgerald, wife Jane. All dear friends of Rachel.
In 2011, Rachel decided to sell her apartment in Chicago and come to Arvada to spend time with her daughter, Colette. Colette lived on Cole Lane, in Arvada, where this block was like a family. There was a cocktail hour in someone's garage almost every evening. There were even old fashioned potluck gatherings. At this time, Colette was on dialysis for almost 13 years at that time. She suffered from PKD, polycystic kidney disease. July 13, 2012, it took her life. A very unexceptional turn of events for Rachel, since she thought Colorado would be her place to die. Not excepting to watch her only child sleep in death. Rachel decided at that point to make Jupiter, FL a year around living. Rachel would visit Chicago during the summer for a month or so, until traveling became to difficult. Rachel enjoyed staying with Matthew and Susan Struve in their lovely home. Grammy had the chance to get caught up with beloved friends and family. In 2013 was her last trip to Colorado to see me, Jennifer, her granddaughter. I had just bought a home, and wanted show it off. Rachel enjoyed the mountains one last time. Then confidented in me that traveling to Colorado was too full of heartache.
Rachel visited her remaining two siblings in Oklahoma as much as possible. I'm happy so to share that Grammy and I were able to enjoy the remaining years together. We became good friends and enjoyed our time together. We even started cruising together, in 2015.
In 2016, became another year of sadness. Rachel lost her Brother Leonard and 3 weeks later her sister Virginia. Both to old age. Both sibling were in their late 90s. These deaths made Rachel the last among 5.
Rachel's sibling left her wonderful nieces and nephews. Leonard George had a son Lee George. Virginia Manning had 2 sons, Ronnie Manning and Jerry Manning(passed). Ed had 2 daughters, Marsha Bastwick and Peggy Gallagher, and a Son Craig George. Evelyn had 2 daughters, Georgie Redmon and Billie Potter. Plus all of their spouses and all of their children, and children's children.
Also in 2016, November, Rachel decided it was time to move into a independent living, at Mangrove Bay, in Jupiter, FL. Mangrove Bay was a half mile or so away from where her condo was, so she was still very at home. Her apartment there had views of the ocean and the intercoastal. Rachel won the hearts of everyone there, and from that created many good friendships. Especially with the ones at the front desk, like Vicki, Susan, Betty, Karen, and Greg. And she couldn't get around town, after giving up her keys, without the wonderful Mangrove Bay drivers.
Grammy and I over the remaining years, visited together quite offen. I was able to visit very 8 weeks, or so. What a treat to be able to have that time. We enjoyed playing cards, watching movies, eating out, and looking at pictures. I was able to accompany her on a total of 8 crusies! Wow! I love her enjoyment of being on the water. We would sleep with the door open to let the breeze in and hear the water hit the ship.
Rachel has dear loved ones in Flordia who demonstrated what true friendship is. Noreen and Stuart Spector, Eileen and Paul Morgan, Bobbie and Ken Miller, Jane and Bruce Fitzgerald, Captain Tony, Nancy Lobo, Bonnie and Rhonda Mack. Rachel also enjoyed the company and food at U-tikis Resturant in Jupiter. They treated her like a queen, but even better they treated her like family. In fact, if you could drop Rachel's name at the host station, and next thing you know, you had a table in a few minutes. (Trade secret) Myself and others got to see first hand the love that was shown between the people at this place towards her, and how Rachel beamed when she would walk in. Juno Beach Cafe was a Sunday regular where they showed great love and support. Also where a table was made available in minutes. Rachel had been visiting this cafe since 1993. Juno Beach Cage was smart in hiring live entertainment on sundays by Jordan Lee or stage name of Dan. Dan and Rachel stayed vast friends, and even played at many if Rachel's events.
Rachel valued the friends she made in Hawaii, through out the city if Chicago and Evanston, Jupiter, FL, the neighbors in Edgewater Beach Apartments and Jupiter Banquet Ball Club, Arvada CO, and last at Mangrover Bay. The extended family Rachwl married into as on of the Reinholtzen's was icing on the cake with the friends she made.
Grammy valued now everyone brought meaning to her life, and she tried to do the same in the lives of others.
April 25, 2019, when my plane landed in Palm Beach, FL, I would have never thought that the next time I left FL, I would be short a Grandmother. Even in the hospital, Rachel was loved by all. A chain of nurses came by to say farewell when Rachel left to head home. When Rachel went home for hospice, the staff all loved her. Upon returning to Mangrove Bay, the staff from different departments where waiting by the door to be able to come in and say they missed her. It was so wonderful see people coming to see her in her home, and family that came to visit in those last days.
Grammy felt asleep in death peacefully at her home in Jupiter, FL, on Thursday morning, on May 16, 2019. I was privileged to have been there holding her hand. I shared that moment with Noreen Spector. Sweetpea even said his goodbyes.
Grammys light brough so many people together, and we will all be together because of what she meant to us. Grammy loved hard, worked hard, and played hard. She tried to make people's days just a little better. And example we can all try to imitate more each day.
At the Sandpiper Yacht club, in Florida there was a celebration of life. A calibration of friends, laughter, music, and food, right along the water. Rachel's ashes where then sent to Chicago for her final resting place.
IN HONOR, of Rachel, there will be a memorial at 4:15pm, doors open at 4:00pm; on Saturday, June 22, 2019. This special occupation will be held at the home of Matthew and Susan Struve. Please contact family members for additional information. Celebration of Life Reception will be held immediately after the memorial. At the memorial, all will have the opportunity to share a thought, a joke, or a memory about Rachel.
In lieu of flowers, a contribution may be made to Vitas Healthcare at www.Vitascommunityconnection.com, or at the National Kidney Foundation at www.kidney.org/support
Also... This is really important request directly from Grammy. Written by Rachel on July 4, 1988, "And please, someone tell a joke so I can go out laughing." : )
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