When Rachel Goeres moved into the French Residence at Morningside at The Chandler Estate in September 2023, she was not just changing her address; she was beginning a new chapter in a life defined by movement, service, adventure, and resilience. Fittingly, The Chandler became the 30th address in her remarkable journey.
Born on February 2, 1955, at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C., Rachel entered the world already steeped in military life. The daughter of an Air Force chaplain, she was six months old when her family first moved to Texas, beginning a childhood shaped by frequent relocations: Lackland AFB in San Antonio; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Olympia, Washington; Huntsville, Alabama; and five formative years in Tokyo, Japan. During that time overseas, she climbed halfway up Mt. Fuji in sixth grade and honed the resourcefulness that would become one of her defining traits.
The eldest of five siblings, Rachel grew up in a family deeply committed to service—spiritual, military, and community. Her father served in Vietnam and is buried, alongside Rachel’s mother, at Arlington National Cemetery. The family’s legacy of leadership continued into the next generation, with Rachel’s brother Rick and his son both becoming Lutheran pastors, and two other brothers, Dan and Dave, as well as Dave’s son, also serving in the military. Over 70 years of unbroken service to God and country.
Rachel excelled academically and athletically, graduating high school in Alabama as a National Honor Society member and “Most Athletic Senior,” having played five sports. She attended nursing school on scholarship at Walter Reed, graduating in 1977. Rachel served nine years as an Army nurse and officer with assignments at Fort Ord, Fort Leonard Wood, Fort Sam Houston, and Fort Jackson. After a medical discharge due to back injuries, she settled in San Antonio and worked as a NICU/Newborn Nursery nurse at Santa Rosa Hospital for six years. Her career later expanded into healthcare IT and nine years with Planned Parenthood. She also collaborated with respected end-of-life educator Martha Jo Atkins, helping get her first book published and developing her teaching curriculum.
Rachel has always been a traveler—first as a military child, then as a military officer, and later as an adventurer at heart. Her early years included family road trips across the country in an Apache pop-up camper, with stops at national parks like Sequoia and Mesa Verde. She remembers seeing an advertisement for a VW van in seventh grade and thinking, long before the current “van life” movement: I want that someday. In 1997, Rachel met the love of her life, Lydia. The two built an adventurous and intentional life together, eventually marrying in New Mexico in 2014. They enjoyed traveling in a teardrop trailer and later a 25-foot Coachmen Freedom Express they affectionately named “Charlie.”
After caring lovingly for her mother Gloria through the end of her life—an experience Rachel later chronicled in her wonderful book Gloria’s Journey Home—Rachel faced another profound loss when Lydia was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of uterine cancer. Lydia chose not to undergo chemotherapy after a second surgery in 2019, a decision Rachel and their physician supported. Their home in Converse became a welcoming gathering place, especially during Lydia’s illness when the couple hosted concerts at home so music could continue to fill their lives. Lydia entered hospice care in January 2020 and passed away that March, at the beginning of COVID restrictions. In the following six months, their beloved dogs Abigail and Martha also passed, leaving Rachel to navigate nearly three and a half years of deep loss and isolation.
Rachel spent that time writing, reflecting, and acknowledging the Surgeon General’s message that loneliness can be a serious detriment to health. She longed for community again. A longtime friend, Aleene Block, had lived at The Meadows, and Rachel remembered often wondering during visits, Could I live in a place like this? Her wife Lydia had also volunteered at Morningside in 2011, and her fellow church members, Liz Hughes and Ellen Evans, lived at the community. When Rachel visited The Chandler in August 2023, she made a checklist: if the community met 80% of her needs, she’d move. It met 110%. She signed the very next day.
Her home in the French Building—light-filled, peaceful, and perched among the treetops—quickly became her sanctuary. She calls it her “tree house,” with what she believes is the best view in the entire community, especially when the Christmas lights glow in winter. Downsizing from a 1,500-square-foot house to a one-bedroom-plus-den felt surprisingly liberating for this exceptionally organized resident. She kept only her van, letting go of her second car, now that nearly everything she loves is within walking distance, including her favorite pizza spot on Main Street.
Rachel’s beloved poodle mix, Vera, adopted from the Animal Defense League, is now her constant companion. The two recently returned from a six-week road trip in her Ford Transit cargo van that she converted into a camper, that included visits to family, friends, state parks, and quirky destinations such as Riverside, Iowa, which claims to be the future birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk. In her retirement, she has embraced the idea of “van life,” which first inspired her as a child. She may soon teach an OASIS class on travel and van living.
Community is at the heart of Rachel’s life at The Chandler. She teaches the APUG (Apple Product Users Group) classes three times a month, stays active at Laurel Heights United Methodist Church, visits long-time friends, writes daily, and advocates for bullet journaling. Her guiding belief, shaped by her pastor’s message that “we have been blessed to bless others,” is simple: “Time isn’t guaranteed. We’re blessed to be a blessing.”
With her son Ryan and his partner Darcy living nearby in the Lavaca neighborhood, and with her close-knit community at Morningside, Rachel has woven together a life rich in purpose, adventure, and connection. Whether she’s planning her next van trip, teaching peers new tech skills, or simply enjoying the serenity of her tree-top view, Rachel’s presence at The Chandler Estate is as vibrant and inspiring as the journey that brought her here.