Rachel Whiteley Eagar

The dogs, bunnies and horses of the earth are mourning and so are we as our precious sister and friend, Rachel Whiteley Eagar, unexpectedly passed away of acute kidney failure October 11, 2024. There is great celebration in heaven amongst our parents, grandparents, her boyfriend of many years, Phillip Herman Bishop, and other loved ones as a result of Rachel's arrival home. We are certain she let out an enormous "HI!!!" as was her characteristic greeting.
Although we miss her sorely, we are thrilled Rachel is out of pain and relieved of the many physical burdens she endured so cheerfully in mortality. Among other things, Rachel suffered from severe developmental delays, epilepsy and autism. What a trooper she was!
Rachel Whiteley Eagar was born January 22, 1972 in Las Vegas, Nevada to Leo Brent Eagar and Kay Whiteley Eagar, the last of six children. As a child, Rachel was the most blonde of all of her siblings. She had beautiful golden blonde hair with dark brown eyes. Surprisingly, the older she got the darker her hair became. At the time of her passing, her hair was very dark brown.
Rachel grew up in Murray and Salt Lake City, Utah in the Garden Park area and graduated from East High School. She was a favorite wherever she went. Despite her limitations, Rachel was an athlete. She loved basketball and played every day at the Boys/Girls Club in Sugarhouse. She loved to shoot free-throws (SWISH!) and would clap whenever she made a shot, which was often. People observing her play were
amazed with her skills. When Rachel watched football, she shouted "TOUCHDOWN!" and threw her hands up in the air in the shape of a goal post. She also loved to swim. Family members needed to make sure her swimsuit was not on backwards before she came outside, and that we didn't lose her glasses or misplace her retainer, which happened from time to time.
When Rachel was very young, Grandma Burrows made a purple and navy blue fabric purse which she carried over her shoulder wherever she went for years until it fell apart from repeated washing. In our home at 985 S. 1200 E. Rachel followed a stimulation pattern (common among those with autism) of walking from the front living room/library into the kitchen area and back, over and over again, always carrying her special purse.
She also had a doll-sized stroller, which she pushed up and down the sidewalk.
One thing that helped Rachel walk was a metal brace going down from her knee on her left leg that was attached to a brown leather boot. This boot became rather INFAMOUS in the Eagar household. If one wasn't careful, you could stub your toe on the boot and it was very painful. One time Mary was running down the hall behind Rachel and did just that, breaking Mary's toe. Moreover, if Rachel wasn't happy with you, she was known to make a "beaver" face and "Give you the BOOT!" which meant she stomped on you! At times, we certainly deserved it.
We had a lot of fun growing up with Rachel, and since she was the youngest, we teased her mercilessly. When she lost her baby teeth, for example, and had a cute Jack-o-lantern smile, she would sit in the back of our station wagon, so we started calling her "Jack-in-Back." In the days before political correctness, Rachel's diagnosis was called Mental Retardation at the time, so naturally, family members lovingly called her "The Space T." We giggled about it in the family but we loved Rachel dearly! We were all very protective about how she was treated. We each took turns helping Rachel bathe or assisting her in other ways. On Saturday nights, Mom liked to roll her hair in pink foam curlers in preparation for church on Sunday. Mom learned how to french
braid, but she did it so tight that we joked she caused Rachel's disabilities!
Rachel loved it when she or someone else in the room was wearing a shirt that had a picture of an animal on it. She would loudly say, "TIGER!!!" or "DOGGIE!" or "OHHHH CUUUUTE!" and point to the picture. She would even approach strangers in the grocery store and touch their chest but Mom rightly wanted us to teach her appropriate social behavior, and put a stop to that.
When Rachel became an adult, she moved into Eastside Center, a women's group home on University Avenue in Salt Lake City, circa 1992. It was there (next door) she met her boyfriend, Herman. The two of them enjoyed being together, slow dancing and holding hands. He liked to help her in and out of the car. Herman joined our family at holiday gatherings, including the annual Christmas social Eastside hosted where residents had their picture taken with Santa. Even many years later, Rachel wanted a photo of Herman in her room and if someone inquired about him she would loudly say "BOYFRIEND!". Rachel was particularly fond of the administrator at Eastside, Jackie Hughes. She also loved driving through Mount Olivet cemetery across the street to see the deer. She lived at Eastside until it closed many years later, and moved into Lindon Care Center, where workers loved her so much they were often found hanging out in her room. Her caseworker, Mery Leon, did a lot to help make Rachel comfortable. After Lindon, Rachel moved to Sandy, Utah to be closer to family members.
Over the years, Rachel enjoyed many outings and activities. She attended the Special Needs Mutual and participated in the bean bag toss in the Special Olympics. She loved Camp Kostopulos, camping with the family up Big Cottonwood Canyon, and traveling to Hardware Ranch with Mom and Dad to see the elk. Last year, a few of us spent the morning with Rachel at Hogle Zoo, where we were treated to a special tour of the
animals by golf cart.
At the time of her passing, Rachel was 52 and living in Sandy, Utah in a beautiful townhome with two bunnies, Fluffy and Fluffy, her large collection of stuffed animals, a couple roommates and her devoted caregivers, Mele Sekona and family. She loved drinking Diet Coke, participating in fun activities with the group, such as going out to eat, to see movies and stringing beads. She was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and loved attending church. Rachel loved Jesus.
Rachel was an intelligent, sweet and loving soul. Although communication was a challenge, recently she started putting together words and sentences we didn't think she'd be able to produce. She was opinionated and would tell you "Hate salad!". At a bowling activity, Rachel stunned her friends when she made a less-than-desirable shot that went into the gutter and exclaimed, "OH SHOOT!" as she slapped her leg. When
others started giggling about her competitive spirit, she muttered, "Not funny!" which delighted onlookers even more!
Rachel was preceded in death by her parents, L. Brent Eagar and Kay Whiteley Eagar, and nephews, Elijah Eagar and Ephraim Cook. She is survived by her siblings, Leo Jon Eagar, Thaddeus Brent Eagar, Jeremy Burton Eagar, Mary Eagar Poelman and Sarah Kay Cook along with many nieces and nephews. The family thanks Mele Sekona and others who loved Rachel and made her last year of life so happy! Friends forever.
An informal Memorial Service/Life Celebration with an open mic will be held Saturday, October 26, 2024 at 10:00am at the Hillcrest Ward Building in the Relief Society room on 7500 South and 700 East in Midvale, Utah. All Rachel fans are welcome. This will be followed by interment at Murray City Cemetery at 11:30am. God be with you till we meet again, Rachel!