Rachel Elizabeth Ewer

When Cassandra and the Phoenix Chorale came to sing at a national conference and then give a performance at St. Mark's cathedral (above), she brought her husband Richard, her son Jeremy and daughter Rachel Ewer.  That was a little more than a year ago.  Rachel was at that time on a more dramatic course of medications for the valley fever disease than she had been for the previous eight or so years.  But you would never have known that she did not feel well.  And she never wanted to be asked how she felt.  She disliked drawing attention to herself in any way.

 Like her parents, she loved music -- piano, violin and voice.  Her father, a composer, has both written and arranged music for the Phoenix Girls Chorus of which she was a part, and through which she became a world traveler.

To me, she was both elfin and intrepid. So smart and yet so kind.  Such a terrific sense of both humor and irony.  She lived a full and varied life, of which we will hear more tomorrow as musicians and fellow students and her family pay tribute to her life and her impact upon the world.

This photo is from 2006, when we trekked through the Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island.

She will never be forgotten by anyone whose life she touched.

Leroy and I thank each of you who have taken the time to write, and we are overwhelmed by your love and support.