Rachel Melchior Falls

40, of Washington DC, died Sunday, August 24, 2008 of brain cancer at her grandparent's home on Pleasant Bay. She grew up in Cambridge and South Orleans, MA and had careers first in theater and then in reproductive health, most recently as Hotline Director for the National Abortion Federation (NAF) in Washington. Rachel was born April 8, 1968, in Brooklyn, NY. She graduated from Cambridge Friends School; from Cambridge Rindge and Latin School in 1985; from Wesleyan University (BA) in 1990; and from the University of Iowa (MFA) in 1996. After high school through the mid-1990s, she worked as a stage manager, lighting designer, and dramaturg, and taught in the theater departments at the University of Iowa and the International School in Amstelveen, the Netherlands. Rachel moved to Washington, DC in 1998, where she affected countless lives in her chosen work at NAF. As Hotline Director she managed a staff who provided unbiased options counseling, clinic referrals, and financial support for women confronted by unplanned pregnancies. Her volunteer activities included almost 10 years as a pro-choice clinic escort in and around Washington, DC. In 2001 she and her friend and companion, William Falls, were married on a trip to Alaska. Rachel was diagnosed with brain cancer in 1989. She was an inspiration to many through public speaking and counseling for brain cancer patients and their families with her personal passion and integrity; and finally through the blogs she wrote during her treatment for brain cancer in 2003-2004 and again in 2007-2008 (http://www64.pair.com/bfalls/rachel/). Her constant awareness of her mortality and her urgency to live well and fully, informed her friendships and accomplishments. The Rachel Henderson Theater Award at Wesleyan University, the Rachel Falls Compassion Award at Exhale, and the Rachel Falls Patient Assistance Fund at the National Abortion Federation are in her honor. She is survived by her husband, William Falls; her mother, Ann Fleck-Henderson; her sisters Mary Hannah Henderson, Abigail Geffken Henderson, and Cassandra Ingram; her stepmother Jane Geffken Henderson; and niece and nephews Hezekiah Fleck Sims, Zewde Ingram, and Seif Ingram. Donations may be made in her memory to the NAF Rachel Falls Patient Assistance Fund at the National Abortion Federation, 1660 L Street, NW, Suite 450, Washington, DC 20036.