Rachel Miller

A devoted mother, beloved friend, and passionate physical therapist, Rachel Miller passed away in her hometown of Kansas City on June 4, 2025, leaving behind a legacy defined by courage, humor, compassion, and love.

Small in stature but larger than life, Rachel was a force of nature. She brought energy, honesty, and joy to every space she entered. Her love for her daughters, passion for healing, and loyalty to friends shaped everything she did.

After graduating from the University of Kansas with her Master’s in Physical Therapy, Rachel began her career with passion and enthusiasm. When she became a mother, she paused to devote herself entirely to her daughters, believing their early years deserved her whole heart. Once her girls were older and more self-sufficient, she returned to her career with renewed purpose, blending clinical expertise with the hard-won wisdom of motherhood.

To those who knew her best, Rachel was the most extraordinary kind of mother – fiercely loving, deeply intuitive, and an unwavering advocate for her family. She had a rare gift for communicating across differences and taught others how to parent with grace, strength, and fierce tenderness.

Rachel faced life’s greatest challenges with remarkable courage. She never backed down from what was hard or painful, and she never let fear close her heart. No matter how dark the day, she could find a glimmer of light. Her humor was a force field, protective, disarming, and often hilarious. With a well-timed joke or playful grin, she lifted spirits, eased tension, and wrapped everyone in warmth, turning even the toughest moments into shared laughter and light.

Rachel made everyone, from her closest friends to strangers, feel seen and appreciated. And she danced, often and without hesitation. Whether to lift a patient’s spirits or to claim joy for herself, dancing wasn’t just something she did; it was part of how she lived. A spark, a smile, a spin, it was her way of saying: “We’re still here. And there’s still joy.”

Rachel spent the last years of her physical therapy career at a long-term care facility, where she was the therapist everyone asked for. She mixed tough love with deep compassion, helping patients reclaim their strength and spirit. Even when her health prevented her from practicing, she returned to sit with patients and encourage them. Her commitment to healing and to people never faded.

Rachel was bold, observant, confident, and kind. Whether paddleboarding, picking Kentucky Derby horses by name, reading novels by a peaceful lake, or just calling to check in, she nurtured joy and connection wherever she went. She lived with full-hearted presence, fierce loyalty, and the kind of honesty that made people better.

She leaves behind her three daughters, Caroline, Kate, and Chloe; her brothers Eric and Michael; her extended family; and a vast circle of friends, coworkers, and patients whose lives were made brighter and braver because of her.

May we carry forward Rachel’s spark, her laughter, her strength, and never forget to dance.

A Celebration of Life for Rachel will be held Thursday, July 17, from 1:30 to 4:00 p.m., with a short service beginning at 2:00 p.m. at Stone Manor in Old Overland Park (7400 W. 79th Street).

Instead of flowers, please consider a donation in Rachel’s memory to either the Friends of the Parkville Animal Shelter (https://www.parkvilleshelter.com/memorial-donation), the Imagine Furever Ranch (https://imaginefureverranch.org/donate/), or the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (https://www.bcrf.org/other-ways-give/).