A 103-year-old Scout volunteer has died

The Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois (GSEIWI) recently lost a longtime volunteer who gave more than fifty years of leadership and service to the Council.

Rachel Wheeler died earlier this month at the age of 103, and she worked with her great-granddaughters on projects until the very end. Dora Wheeler, Rachel’s granddaughter, told Our Quad Cities News about the impact her grandmother had on the community.

“My grandmother was an amazing woman, a wonderful role model that we all looked up to,” Wheeler said. “I posted her obituary on Facebook and so many people just reached out to me and said, ‘Oh my God, your grandmother was amazing,’ ‘I remember seeing her at council meetings,’ ‘I remember seeing her in all these places,’ and all the things that she did for others, and she was an amazing role model for me, my sisters, my daughters and my niece.”

“She was just incredible,” said Diane Nelson, executive director of Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois. “She gave so much of her time, talent and treasure to the Girl Scouts. She just made such a huge impact on so many young girls’ lives and was so engaging that she even got other leaders to volunteer, other parents to volunteer, she got them so involved in Girl Scouts because she was so passionate about what we were doing in Girl Scouts.”

Rachel lived in Cedar Rapids, so she couldn’t lead her granddaughters’ troops, but she provided advice on leadership and integration. “She always wanted us to make sure everyone was included,” Dora said. “One of her biggest things was that no one should be sidelined financially or anything like that. Everyone should have the opportunity to experience all the amazing experiences that Girl Scouts provide.”

Nelson got to know Rachel better through volunteering and council meetings. “She wasn’t just an amazing volunteer, she was just an amazing woman. She was even a huge donor to the Girl Scouts; we literally have buildings named after her at Camp Liberty. We have two buildings called the Rachel Wheeler building, and we have a big tree with her name on it. She helped us expand our camp so all of our girls could have amazing outdoor experiences.”

Dora fondly recalled sharing her Girl Scout memories with her daughters and grandmother. “She was into sewing and bonfires, something she always talked about with my daughters. “OK, what badge work are you working on, what skills did you learn at camp this week, so it’s always nice that she was able to tie it back to the things she’s done. My youngest daughter goes to a week-long day camp organized by our service unit, and then she has a week of residential camp. It was always nice when we could have that time in between where she could just talk to my grandma and she would talk about working on badges or making fires or all those basic things she learns as a Girl Scout. She tried to show my grandmother how to tie a knot, and then my grandmother, at the age of 102, taught her how to play euchre.”

“She always had something positive to say,” Nelson said. “She was just a huge supporter of Girl Scouts in so many ways. When Rachel Wheeler walked into the room, we all immediately said, ‘Oh, thank you, Rachel’s here,’ and we just listened to what she had to say.” Nelson said Rachel’s visit was a chance to share even more memories. “We went to her visit and it was just nice to sit there and listen to everyone talk about Rachel and the impact she had on so many people’s lives.”

“I think my favorite thing about the last few years was when she donated to build new cabins for horseback riders,” Dora said. “My girls were so proud to go there and see Grandma’s name on the different cabins, and my youngest gave her a picture, which she loved. One of the scarves she bought at the store has a map of Camp Liberty on it, so she showed it to my grandma and she said, ‘Oh, so where are my cabins.’ We’ve always been about getting everyone involved and explaining to people, ‘This is what Girl Scouts are and this is what we do as Girl Scouts.’ It’s just a nice legacy to pass on to my kids.”