(chronological)
In loving memory of my younger sister, Rachel LaFollette Jones.
As kids, some of my most treasured memories with Rachel are from when we shared a room, in St. Andrews, Scotland. Firstly its a miracle we didn't have open warfare daily in such close quarters. We managed to get along quite well. Every Sunday at noon, we would prop the skylight window open as wide as it would go and wait together, watching the Scottish marching band make their way down the cobblestone road below on their way to the town square. Being serenaded with drums and bagpipes each week felt magical to us.
While we were there, we spent our days exploring tide pools, collecting shells, trying to conquer enormous hedge mazes, climbing trees, and sharing a mutual dislike of having to wear school uniforms.
We have always shared a love of obscure 80s music and one hit wonders.
Rachel brought curiosity, laughter, and a sense of wonder into my life as my sister and my companion in so many small adventures. As the years passed, she continued to touch the lives of those around her with her presence and spirit. I will always hold those experiences close to my heart. Though she is gone too soon, she lives on in our memories and the stories we share.
She will be deeply missed and forever loved.
Fly high Rach and give Tim a hug for me.
Rachel LaFollette Jones was my oldest and dearest friend—my chosen sister. We met in fourth grade after I moved to Johnson City, Tennessee, and from that moment on, our friendship became one of the deepest roots in my life. Through childhood sleepovers, amusement park adventures, and afternoons spent dancing to Janet Jackson or watching MTV at my house on pirated cable, we grew up side by side. Rachel was brilliant, athletic, and grounded—someone who could master algebra and soccer with equal ease. But more than that, she was someone who lived by her heart and stood up for fairness, always making those around her feel seen and accepted.
Rachel carried a heavy set of life circumstances from a young age, losing her mother and grandmother to ALS as a child. I still remember the moment she told me—how calm and matter-of-fact she was, even as I felt the weight of her words like a piano dropping. That moment stayed with me, not because she was stoic or strong, but because she had already found a rare kind of acceptance. Rachel didn't let grief define her; she forged ahead with determination, love, and a zest for life that never dimmed. She was never a surface person—she went deep, and she stayed there.
Our friendship endured nearly four decades. We built families, careers, and happy memories. And even as adults, we spoke almost daily until ALS took her voice. In her final days, I found myself reflecting on the countless conversations we shared—how she could distill things down to clarity when we talked about the hard stuff, how her humor could lift the heaviest moment, and how she looked life's challenges directly in the eye without turning away. I feel her now reminding me to laugh, to accept, and to keep going and live life fully just as she did while supporting her brother Tim through his ALS journey and how she embraced living fully through her own.
Rachel shaped my life in ways I'm still discovering. Her love, her logic, her humor, her resilience—they're woven into me. I miss her terribly, and I always will. I love you, Rachie. Forever rooted together.
When I think of Rachel, I smile remembering her LaFollette-esque mannerisms like her father, Hugh. and her brother. Tim -- who was my beloved friend. I met Rachel through Tim years after he and I became close friends through a shared love of punk music, critical thinking, comedy, and collectivism. The day Tim called me to inform me he was diagnosed with ALS I was devastated. Many of us mobilized to support Tim and formed a group called Often Awesome. Even though Rachel lived far from us in Greensboro, NC she stepped up and got involved as much as possible. I know it pained her to be so far away during this horrible time. I had a similar feeling the day Rachel told me she took a test that confirmed she had the familial form of ALS. I held out hope that this would not play itself out the way we feared.
We lost a beautiful, caring, fun, smart, witty, sometimes goofy person who was such a great mother of Keegan and Mckenna, spouse of Ron, daughter of Hugh, sister of Tim, friend, worker, confidant, and a special character like those closest to her. I send my deep love and condolences to her family, especially her children. I remember Keegan was old enough to know his Uncle Tim and now going through this with his mom breaks my heart.
We will miss Rachel and hold her close to us through all the great memories and moments we shared that sadly ended way too prematurely. Down with ALS. We need to continue to eradicate it because we're tired of losing so many loved ones like this. Please continue to support ALS TDI, like Rachel and her family, to help us get there ASAP.
Rachel will always be with us.
She had a way of making everyone in her orbit feel seen, heard, loved, and respected. She lived for the day with the hope and excitement of someone whom had not been touched by tragedy.
I was blessed to cross paths with her indomitable spirit if only momentarily. To me Rachel was both anchor and lighthouse when I was adrift in the sea of caregiving.
When I first met Rachel I was awkward, nervous, and excited. Awkward because I was not family but due to life’s path I was joined to her brother Tim. Nervous because I had felt out of place and unqualified to be part of Tim’s care team or life even. Excited because Tim had shared stories of his older, cooler, pragmatic sister and I was enamored.
Rachel saw this in me and immediately comforted me at our initial meeting Tim’s bedside. I have never known a more authentic gentle, comforting, and loving soul except for Tim.
If you weren’t on the level, she could sense it. Her wisdom, wit, and. sense of humor was unmatched and live on in me always. She made me want to be a better person.
I am at peace because that’s what I think her sweet heart would want. Peace.
My heart goes out to her family and friends. Even though I will forever be changed by meeting her and Tim.
She will forever my rainbow sister. Rachel planned for us to have rainbow tattoos done at the same time during one of her trips to Greensboro, NC. Our combined love of The Muppets and the Rainbow Connection song solidified our choice. We decided on a rainbow that looked as if it had been drawn by a child, bold, colorful , and bright.
In her memory I chose to live more, love more, and always see the light in the dark.
How do you pay tribute to the individual who changed the entire trajectory of your career and life?
I met Rachel at my first office job at Amica in 2001. Barbara, our manager at the time, would tell Rachel how I was her hire the first few months on the job, when it seemed like I wasn't going to get the hang of office life. I had never worked in an office before; I did not understand office politics. But Rachel hired me anyway. She said she liked me and my spirit.
I spent a lot of time in Rachel's cube, not simply talking about work, but about her experiences. She had so much more life experience than I. These shaped her life plans. Me . . . not all my life experiences had been pleasant. Rachel understood and was patient, compassionate, and encouraging.
After Rachel transferred to another branch of Amica and I left the company, we kept in touch, mainly through Facebook.
I moved to San Diego in 2003; armed with the skills I learned through Rachel and others at Amica. But I was nervous. I began at a commercial real estate company, where I climbed the professional ladder to the marketing department. Rachel watched my progress from afar and advised me when she could. Partly at her urging, I returned to school and got my master's degree.
Rachel got to see my rise in San Diego but also witnessed my fall when I moved back to Wisconsin. She was never negative towards me, even when I started to get in trouble again with the law. She would message me to make sure I was doing alright, and would encourage me to continue moving forward, and to get the help I needed. Through it all, I never forgot Rachel's kindness, and the chance she gave me to take my life down a different path.
Rachel made a trip out to San Diego one year and we met up for beers. I told her that everything I had done to that point wouldn't have been possible had she not had faith in me many years before. She did that classic half laugh and smirk that is forever etched into my brain. That was the last time I saw Rachel in person.
As much as it saddens me Rachel is no longer with us, I am so incredibly grateful for the time she was here on this earth. I would never have been able to experience all the success I have been blessed with over the years, I would never have gone back to school, and honestly, probably wouldn't be here had she not hired me at Amica all those years ago. I hope her family knows how much she is admired, how much her friendship has changed me, and how much credit I give her for my success.
I hope we can all take what we learned from having Rachel in our lives and continue to honor her as she would honor us. Cheers, Rachel.
I met Rachel in our very first class in the Organizational Leadership M.A. program at Gonzaga. She and I instantly recognized a pattern of commenting on each other's discussion board posts, so started emailing back and forth. Realizing we were equally responsive, I gave her my number and we started texting. Tina was in our program as well; we had briefly worked together at Boeing and I knew she was in our intro course, and the 3 of us formed quite the alliance straight out of the gate. We had planned on taking our immersion course together in March of 2020 (meaning we'd get to meet Rachel face to face for the first time!), but the pandemic hit and instead we were quickly moved into the toughest course of the program. Those two luckily were paired in the same group - I had to suffer with stranger dangers.
Throughout the time in our program, Rachel and I ended up in 7 of 10 courses together, and I truly do not know how I could have survived without her. She was so methodical in how she'd talk things out, and had such a way of really explaining things in great detail without overly explaining. When I would struggle with certain topics or reading materials, there was never a time I couldn't turn to her and ask her opinion to try and get myself back on track. We definitely had evenings when wine was in coffee cups (another thing I appreciated about her!). It was the pandemic!
Rachel and I had an immediate bond, and our conversations quickly turned from being about the class material to work and then to life itself. We realized we were both big Disney fans (although she much more than I!), and the three of us agreed that we'd celebrate our graduation together at Disneyworld. We were able to make that trip happen in October of 2022, and had the best time taking Tina on the Avatar ride for her first time. Rachel had even shipped us graduation ears well in advance of our trip to get us in the mood! We were also able to squeeze in a Disney Land and California Adventure trip in February 2025. It was awesome to get to show her where it all started (even though she was NOT impressed with our tiny castle).
Rachel was so wildly intelligent and thoughtful, always doing the most for everybody while somehow managing to stay sane. Beyond thankful for being admitted into Gonzaga, and it allowing my path to cross with Rachel's. She will be terribly missed but always remembered with the biggest smile.
Jen, Rachel, and I became fast friends in the beginning of our grad program. We may have had more than one "wine in a coffee cup" zoom meetings or study sessions as we grew together and moved through our courses. Rachel's wicked sense of humor made difficult assignments feel less daunting and more like something we could actually enjoy. Rachel and I specifically bonded over our parenting experiences as well, as our kids are similar ages and we were both juggling the responsibilities of being professionals, moms, wives and students all at the same time.
She was endlessly patient with those of us who weren't as academically confident, always ready to listen, reframe, and walk us through until things clicked. She genuinely loved the study of leadership and loved helping people get better at it. Rachel taught by example: curious, kind, funny, and committed to bringing others along with her.
When we celebrated our graduation in Disneyworld in 2022, it was the first time we had met in person! Such a special memory. We never doubted for a moment that we would have a wonderful time together after the bond we had built through our Gonzaga program. Not long after graduation, she shared with us her intention to continue with her studies and although I could not imagine doing more school, it didn't surprise me at all that Rachel made that choice, and it was awe inspiring to watch my amazing friend continue to set the bar so high for herself.
During our Disneyland trip in February of 2025, she was beginning to feel the effects of ALS. She explained to me how her diagnosis has influenced what she was planning to focus on for her continuing studies and it centered on how companies and organizations could better accommodate and support those suffering from ALS. During a time when most people would have quickly stepped away from school, Rachel embraced the opportunity to continue to make a difference. Rachel was more than a dear friend — she was a role model to so many of us, and I will carry her example of determination, kindness, and love with me always, striving to live by those values.