The Wheaton Record
Wheaton, Ill.

Aug. 26, 2005

2005 graduate killed in car accident
By Sarah Pulliam
While Julia Piers waited for one of her roommates to arrive for a visit, her cell phone rang.
The voice on the other end said her roommate, Rachel Griego, had died.
“It was absolute devastation,” Piers said. “There have been a lot of tears. Tears of mourning and there are the tears of being overwhelmed, and then the tears of joy when we remember Rachel.”
Rachel, a 2005 summa cum laude Wheaton graduate, was killed in a car crash July 23 in Arkansas. She was on her way back to Wheaton to stay with Piers before moving to Naperville.
Rachel, 22, was traveling northbound on Interstate 55 in her car when she ran off to the shoulder for an unknown reason, overcorrected and lost control. She drove into oncoming traffic, hit a pickup truck and was killed instantly, according to her mother, Julie Griego.
Rachel lived off campus with Piers during her senior year with four other master’s students who also graduated in May.
“There have been so many people impacted by Rachel,” Piers said. “She had so many graduate and undergraduate friends in GUP, band and all over campus.”
Piers said she remembers Rachel as a person who was humble, intelligent, sensitive and someone who served others.
“Every time I would get up and go down to the kitchen to eat breakfast, she would come out holding her Bible in her PJs,” Piers said. “I always remember that Rachel was daily seeking the Lord. That is such a strong testimony and a legacy to her roommates.”
Although Rachel was shy, Piers said she also had a sillier side.
“It was just wonderful, those nights when we spilled into our apartment, got into our pajamas and just laughed together about anything and everything,” she said. “She was hysterical, just always making us laugh.”
Rachel’s death came after her visit to her family in La Marque, Texas, and came two days before she was to begin her job as a foster care caseworker at Evangelical Child and Family Services in Wheaton.
Rachel had just returned from six weeks of work at a day camp for disadvantaged students in Washington, D.C. She graduated from Wheaton in May with a bachelor’s in psychology.
Rachel’s death is the second in Wheaton’s class of 2005. James Pyles was killed in a car accident on June 24, 2004 in the West Bank during a missions trip.
Rachel’s mother said her immediate family members had spoken to Rachel on her cell phone during the day of the accident while she was driving to St. Louis to visit a friend.
“It was a very bad shock. It was so sudden and such a tragedy,” Julie said. “She was such a beautiful person and had so much to live for, so it was hard to understand why the Lord took her.”
Julie had breast cancer seven years ago and said she had to struggle with what would happen to her children if she were to die.
“Finally I surrendered my children to God,” she said. “I surrendered her that many years ago so how could I be angry with God for taking her when I know that he always has the best plan for us in mind.”
Julie said the Griego family is coping with Rachel’s death fairly well and the family is considering attending grief counseling. Rachel’s sister Carrie, 19, is a sophomore at Colgate University (N.Y.) and her brother Ivan is 15.
Rachel was the chaplain of Wheaton’s symphonic band her junior and senior years.
“Her prayers before rehearsals were conversations with the Lord and they had a way of making everyone focused, settled and ready to put the outside world back outside so we could be about the task of praising the Lord with our musical talents,” said former band director Jim Warrick.
Warrick described Rachel as one of the most God-loving, creative, talented and smart young people he has ever taught.
“Now on my list of things to ask the Lord when I meet him is the question why did he need her more than the world needed her,” Warrick said. “I am certain she has no regrets being with the Lord, but those of us who knew her certainly miss her dearly.”
Wheaton’s memorial service for Rachel will be at 3 p.m. on Oct. 9 in Barrows Auditorium.
Memorial contributions can be made to Wheaton College-Rachel Griego Memorial Fund, c/o David R. Lawrenz.

Sidebar:
Birth: May 29, 1983

Family: Parents Tony and Julie Griego; sister Carrie, 19; and brother Ivan, 15.

Hometown: La Marque, Texas

Future plans: Hired as a case worker in foster care for the Evangelical Child & Family Services in Wheaton, Rachel planned to return to school eventually to pursue dual master’s degrees in theology and social work.

Academic achievements:
Graduated salutatorian of her high school class in 2001 and summa cum laude from Wheaton in May 2005, earning a bachelor’s in psychology. She was a member of Wheaton College Scholastic Honor Society and PSI CHI.

Extracurricular activities: Played flute in Wheaton’s wind ensemble her first two years and the symphonic band her final two years. She served as an officer on Global Urban Perspectives (GUP) cabinet during her senior year. She was also a Discipleship Small Group leader and worked for Phonathon. Before her death, she had just returned from six weeks working at a day camp for disadvantaged students in Washington, D.C.