Rachel Boyd Rawls, 62, of Huntsville, AL passed away Wednesday, June 8th. Rachel was born in Jackson, MS. She graduated from Central Hinds Academy in 1978, attended Hinds Community College, and graduated from Mississippi State with degrees in education in 1982 and 1983.
Rachel was very involved with the school system in Huntsville, having volunteered or worked for many years in Mountain Gap, Challenger, and Grissom Schools. She worked as a full-time aide in the self-contained special education classrooms and was devoted to the students’ care and education.
She was preceded in death by her father, Willis Ray Boyd, Jr. of Bolton, MS; uncle, Homer Boyd of Learned, MS; and aunt, Bettye Berryhill, also of Learned, MS. Survivors include her mother, Mary Bess Boyd of Bolton, MS; her husband of 37 years, Ben Rawls; her children, Scott Rawls of Huntsville, and Ellen Rawls (Greg Pawel) of Huntsville; and uncles, Doug Beard of Bolton MS and John Beard of Huntsville, AL.
Visitation will be held Friday, June 10 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Aldersgate United Methodist Church, Huntsville, AL. A Celebration of Life will be held Saturday, June 11 at 2:00 p.m. also at Aldersgate UMC. Burial will follow in Maple Hill Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Aldersgate UMC, 12901 Bailey Cove Rd., Huntsville, AL 35803, or Grissom High School, 1001 Haysland Rd, Huntsville, AL 35802. Memorials to Grissom will go to students in the self-contained classrooms where Rachel worked.
