Rachel Marian Lake

1932 - 2015

Rachel Marian Lake

Rachel Lake quietly passed away on March 29, 2015 in Lake Forest Park, WA. She was born in St. Maries, Idaho, on January 22, 1932, to Mary Louise and Albert Wilfred Fields. Raised in Idaho and Montana before finally settling in Spokane, WA, she received her diploma from North Central High School in 1949.

Rachel earned a Business Degree at Whitworth, an Education Degree at Eastern Washington, followed by a Master's Degree at the University of Washington.

Rachel began her teaching career in Spokane, moving to Seattle to join the Shoreline School District, teaching from 1957 - 1988. She began at the elementary level, moved on to Kellogg Middle School, finishing her career at Shorewood High School teaching History, English, and Business. She was honored as Teacher of the Year in 1987. Rachel served as the Shoreline Education Association President (SEA) for 5 years.

After retiring from the Shoreline Schools, Rachel served as administrative assistant for the SEA, 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, an 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 married Kenneth Fletcher Lake Sr. in 1958. They just celebrated their 57th wedding anniversary. They had sons 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 celebration of Rachel's life will be held at Lake Forest Park Presbyterian Church, 17440 Brookside Blvd. at 1pm on Saturday, April 18. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Sno-King School Retiree's Scholarship Fund, PO Box 33962, Seattle, WA 98133 would be greatly appreciated. Full obituary available at washelli.com.