Obituary of Rachel Marie Whitney

We are deeply saddened by the loss of our courageous daughter, Rachel. She was 28. Rachel passed away peacefully with the love of her family and boyfriend by her side at St. Mary’s hospital on Thursday, November 16th,2017. Rachel was an incredibly brave, strong, caring and beautiful girl who fought her battle with cystic fibrosis right to the end.

She will be missed by her loving parents, Steve and Gwen Whitney, her brother Ryan, who she admired and thought the whole world of and her kind, caring and supportive boyfriend of 9 years, Peter Knowles. She will be lovingly remembered by her grandma Diane who she shared an incredibly strong bond with. Rachel will also be remembered by Diane’s partner, Dennis, her grandfather Jim (Linda) Whitney, all of her aunts, uncles and cousins, and Ryan’s girlfriend, Courtney, all of whom she loved dearly. We would also like to acknowledge all of her caring and loyal friends who stuck by her. She was predeceased by her great-grandma, Iris Foerster, her grandparents Michael and Irene Duskocy, her uncle Jerry and cousin Ben.

Rachel enjoyed going to the cottage and we are so thankful she got there a few times this past summer; that truly was her ‘happy’ place. As a child, she enjoyed dance and horseback riding. Her love for animals was apparent and she will miss her kitty, Finn, immensely. We are grateful for all the trips Rachel was able to go on. She visited Italy while in high school, and took several sunny destination trips with her family. She had a passion for following her favourite sports teams, which included the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Kitchener Rangers, who she enjoyed cheering on in person with family.

Rachel attended Driftwood Public School, Doon Public School, Preston High School and Conestoga College where she graduated with a diploma in Recreation and Leisure. She worked at Chartwell Retirement Residence in Kitchener where she was an Activities Assistant. She loved her job there very much and cared deeply for the residents there. Unfortunately, she had to quit working in 2015 due to poor health. For the last 2 years Rachel was in and out of hospital fighting bad lung infections.

We would like to sincerely thank Dr. Mary Jackson for all of her exceptional care and compassion for Rachel over the past several years. Also, thank you to Dr. Harlick, Dr. Yew, Dr. Heather Racz, and all the CF team at St. Mary’s Hospital, and to Dr. Sidhu and Dr. Brode at Toronto General Hospital.

A VERY special thank you to the nurses on the 6th floor, especially Jenn, Ann and Jackie, and to all the medical staff who cared for Rachel at home the past several months, especially Bethany, Laura and Aidan. Your compassion and care were greatly appreciated by our whole family. We were blessed to have you and Rachel sincerely loved you all.

Friends are invited to share their memories of Rachel with her family during memorial visitation at the Erb & Good Family Funeral Home, 171 King St. S., Waterloo on Tuesday, November 21, 2017 from 2 – 4 & 7 – 9 p.m.

A Memorial Service will be held at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 22 Willow St., Waterloo on Wednesday November 22, 2017 at 11 a.m.

As expressions of sympathy, in lieu of flowers, donations to the Cambridge Humane Society or the K-W Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Canada would be greatly appreciated and may be arranged by contacting the funeral home at www.erbgood.com or 519-745-8445.

            Though she be but little, she is fierce

                           William Shakespeare