Rachel Rae Gutbrod (Tripi)

On the afternoon of Saturday, April 24 Rachel Rae Gutbrod (Tripi) was called home to eternal glory with her Heavenly Father and the Communion of Saints before her, including her beloved grandparents. Rachel was known throughout her life for her immense capacity for empathy and her concern for the welfare of others, which earned her a large and loyal group of friends throughout her days. Her eclectic aesthetic gave her an eye for the beautiful and the useful, so much so that she was able to fill any living space to bursting. She was a thoughtful giver of gifts—and frequent shopper at Goodwill. The glue that held so many friends together, she was the best person with whom to do nothing in particular, to ask for advice over tea or homemade soup or Moscato, or to semi-professionally apply makeup and style hair. Born November 26, 1990, Rachel was a happy, smiley baby and a dear treasure to her parents, Billie Rae and Vincent Jr. As a child, she was a Girl Scout and particularly fond of horseback riding. She played piano, volleyball, and did her best at ballet lessons. Rachel developed a sense of adventure that took her out-of-doors often, down the Wisconsin River on canoe trips with Dad, and later, Super Adventure excursions with her Venture crew. Despite early difficulties with phonics, dedicated teachers helped her to become a truly voracious reader. Rachel would pay this gift forward in college, working through AmeriCorps to tutor English language learners in reading. In high school, she participated in theatre productions along with brother, Vincent III, and loved musicals RENT, Wicked, and Hairspray! As a gym elective, she pursued lifeguard training, a decision that proved to kick off a lifelong career in the pool as well as kismet. Rachel met her husband, Matt, while they worked at the same waterpark. He proposed to her on her birthday following a much-anticipated trip to the Grand Canyon (he only needed a little coaching on the correct protocols, which Rachel gracefully provided). They married August 31, 2014. On their honeymoon they snorkeled in Fiji and went cliff diving in New Zealand. Their love was seemingly effortless, filled with jokes and lightheartedness. Also cats. They were immensely comfortable together, as soulmates are. They passed many hours comforted by each other's company, be it on one of their many trips to Disney, Doctor Who pajama parties, or an all-nighter driving the snowplow around. They took numerous UTV trips Up North, and sometimes when they ran out of wine they would just take an impromptu drive up to Door County. Side by side, they resolutely persevered in the face of the cancer: through every surgery, every treatment, every doctor's visit. She completed her bachelor's degree in Comparative Literature after a brief hiatus to recover from her first surgery to remove an astrocytoma. She advanced in her career to become an aquatics director. She saved two lives from drowning. But her greatest joy came from teaching swim lessons. Among her students were people of every age, and she was particularly gifted at working with children with disabilities. So dedicated to her job was she that Rachel could often be found wearing her swimsuit, perhaps in a comfortable recumbent position clipping the claws of one of her cats, Gimli and Shirley, whenever she was not otherwise fashionably dressed. When her physician asked her about her goals with regard to her cancer treatment, she replied that she wanted to reach her thirtieth birthday. She achieved that, plus five months. Blessed daily by the loving care of Matt's parents, Lexie and Larry, Rachel was comforted in her final months by Preceptor hospice caregivers, sister-cousins, and sister-friends. Gifts in memory of Rachel can be made to the Brain Tumor Research program at the Medical College of Wisconsin c/o Dr. Jennifer Connelly at 9200 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53226. Make checks payable to MCW Brain Tumor Research Program. OR to the Eternal Wish Foundation https://eternalwish.org/