It’s so difficult to write in the past tense about someone who was so vital, so dynamic, so full of life.
After a long and excruciating illness, Rachelle Egel (nee Shuster) is with us no longer.
Rachelle was a force to be contended with.  She was a strong lady who, despite her pain, made the most of life and laughed in its face.  In fact, her children so recognized this that on her stone are engraved the words “We had some laughs”. 
Rachelle came to Israel from Boston, USA in the early 1970s and made her life here. She underwent a difficult divorce, but has three of the greatest children any mother could ask for.  They had a mother who was, indeed, a strict disciplinarian, but her children were her life and her soul; they meant the world to her and she would have done anything for them. They, in turn, did whatever they could for her with respect, devotion and outpourings of love.
She was a woman with a heart as great as her sense of humor, and was a true giver - to family, to friends, to the community.  For many years she and her long-term partner Uri were the driving force behind a singles group in Tel Aviv which flew firstly under the flag of the AACI and later became one of the social groups associated with ESRA.  It was Rachelle who was the brains behind the operation.  Always busy arranging activities, organizing events, scheduling and advertising, and constantly endeavoring to bring a wealth of culture and social activities to so many English speakers in the Tel Aviv region.
As a friend she was second to none.  Her son said during the eulogy: “such friendships are the stuff of dreams.”  Rachelle was a people magnet and, as the years went by, she created her own ‘family of friends’ - we, who have now become a support group for each other in our terrible bereavement - Rachelle’s extended family, who loved her so very much and will keep her forever in our hearts.

By Judy Raffel 
Rachelle was so easy to connect with. We shared a love of movies and food but mostly a love of humor.   My fondest memory was watching the American Academy Awards with her at some ungodly hour of the morning and talking about each dress, piece of jewelry and hairdo as much as about the performances.   Rachelle and Uri, my boyfriend and I used to take drives into the forest, and have a picnic, so she could get out into nature and feel she was on a vacation. Once when she visited me in California she was in such good spirits and insisted on going to see the taping live of Jay Leno.   She relished each moment of the trip even though dressing and mobility were so difficult.  I was in awe of how she managed her many illnesses and disabilities for so many years, serious as they were.  She never gave up and was giving and loving to her friends and family throughout.  

May she rest in peace knowing she was such an important friend in our lives.