Rachel Ann Kochevar

Rachel Ann Kochevar was born on August 3, 1985 and she passed away comfortably on September 21, 2014 surrounded by her boyfriend, Luke, Mom and Dad, her brother Joey and his girlfriend, Molly. Rachel was only 29 when she passed but she had a zest for life, graduated college, started her career and travelled extensivly. She had a will and determination that exceeded many people's expectations fighting her illness. Rachel is survived by her life partner Luke, her parents, Chris and Lori and her brother Joey and Molly. Other survivors include her grandparents Laren and Pat Empey, Ed and Bev Kochevar, aunts Kerry, Marla, Roxanne and Tina, uncles Doug, Tom, Kip, and Dave. And many cousins. Rachel had many wonderful friends. She left her sweet touch on each of our hearts. Rachel grew up in Littleton, Colorado. She enjoyed gymnastics, cheerleading and was an avid reader and execellant student. She attended Columbine High School and graduated with honors. She received a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the University of Northern Colorado. Rachel was fortunate to be hired by an amazing company, Venaxis, that has supported her all through her cancer battle. While working at Venaxis, Rachel applied for and was accepted at Cal Poly Technical in San Louis Obispo, CA for graduate school. She then recieved the diagnosis of Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Rachel fought a courageous and long battle against her cancer diagnosis including three stem cell transplants. Rachel loved to travel and to experience life with family and friends. One of Rachel's favorite destinations was Florida and Disney World. She also traveled to Ireland and Italy during her college time and was always looking forward to her next travel destination. She made many visits to Alaska and Hawaii with Luke. Her love of great food kept her searching for new restaurants and for new recipes to cook at home. Rachel said the best way to wake up in the morning was with a cup of coffee waiting for her. Along with her zest for life, shopping was a passion, as was collecting nail polish and painting finger and toe nails. Rachel loved animals as much as she loved people. Her Corgi, Annie was constantly by her side. She wished she could adopt every animal at the Dumb Friends League. It pained her to see an animal hurting even as she ignored her own pain during her battle with cancer. Rachel was a humanitarian, an environmentalist and a scientific researcher. She truly wanted the world to be a better place for everone and committed her career and life to it. She sponsored TeachHaiti and Kiva adoptees and was socially aware of many other charities, while fighting her own battle. Rachel was beautiful in every way and will be missed by all who knew her. Memorial Contributions may be made in Rachel's memory to: Luekemia and Lymphoma Society 1311 Mamaroneck Avenue, Suite 310 White Plains, NY 10605 Phone: (914) 949-5213 Fax: (914) 949-6691 ~Or~ Denver Dumb Friends League 2080 S. Quebec St. Denver, CO 80231 Phone:(303) 751-5772