Rachel Jane Esposito

1984 - 2024

If one was watching the skies at sunrise on June 28, 2024, one might have noticed a star in the north sky dim a little more than the rest. Not long after sunrise the world lost a bright light and will forever be that much darker. Rachel Jane Esposito passed onto her next journey in the great beyond that morning, leaving behind a village that is shattered.

Born on September 24, 1984 to Deborah Maxey Howard and Jay Frank Weiland, Rachel erupted into this world with a fire that would never be quelled until death. Born with spina bifida, she spent her life challenging doctors, teachers, mentors, friends, and family. Not accepting the words "be safe" and "you won't be able to do that", she excelled at proving the naysayers wrong. Through many tragedies, she rose above them, the majority being the deaths of close friends and family. Grandparents Doris Maxey, Leneous Maxey, James Frank Weiland, as well as her father, Jay Frank Weiland, and her best friend Daniel Lee Lister all preceded her in death.

Through great adversity comes great growth. A wonderful stepfather, Joseph Howard, and his large extended family would soon enter the picture and her world would become fuller. Then in the year 2000 in an Easton High School drama class, Rachel would meet a young man who, while awkward and highly annoying, would become a permanent attachment at her side. Matthew Esposito entered her world and would not be turned away. After years of dating and courtship, they eventually married on November 28, 2009. Before and after this they created two amazing and beautiful daughters: Rory Jane Esposito and Isabella Hughes Esposito. Along with a large number of nieces and nephews their blood family was thus complete.......or so they thought.

Rachel had a heart larger than most. Whether it be an animal or a person, Rachel was quick to open her home to any and all that needed a place to stay. Dogs, cats, guinea pigs, hamsters, fish, children, and too many people to count would all become fixtures in their growing home. No person would go without a place to lay their head, a meal in their belly, and shared love in their hearts. An amazing revelation would occur in 2017 that would finally complete her blood family. After years of searching, she located her long lost brother Greg Dill, his beautiful wife, Becky Dill, and an amazing nephew, Luke Dill. Coupling her blood family with her extended family, family like Tiffany Rice, Beth Price, Carrie Jones, Krystal Sheeler, and many others, her heart was fuller than ever.

Not to be out done in happiness, hardships would soon return. Rachel would soon become an amputee after years of fighting illness. Still in good spirits and adjusting to a new way of life, the Covid plague would soon arrive and contain people to their homes. But in all darkness light can be found if one looks hard enough, which is exactly what Rachel did. She found through online platforms the ability to advocate and help others in issues that she cared about. Domestic violence victims, children, mental health advocacy, and veterans assistance groups would all find help from a caring person known as Stitch. Through this moniker, and mostly unknown, she was involved in over 800 cases through the years to help those in need, 200 in the past year alone. No matter what obstacles were thrown at Rachel, drive and desire would always lead to possibility and purpose.

The amount of lives she touched is incalculable. Be it one of her countless friends (who are all considered family in our eyes), her massive biological family, or a random stranger that she was blessed to meet, she would make a lasting impact on the lives and hearts of others wherever she traveled. The lights in the sky shine dimmer now with hers extinguished, but what everyone she touched now knows, is that the light shines brighter in their own hearts. Take in a stray...... Give a person a meal......Mend a friendship...... Take the time to spread Rachel's light. The world is a brighter place for it.

A visitation will be held at Fellows, Helfenbein, and Newnam Funeral Home in Easton, MD on Saturday July 6, 2024 from 11am - 1pm. A service will follow, starting at 1pm.

For online condolences, please visit www.fhnfuneralhome.com.