Rachel Lefler Whittington's Obituary
Rachel Lefler Whittington, aged 80, passed away peacefully while held by her family on April 19, 2025. She was born December 16, 1944, the only child of Ulysses and Zona Lefler in Albemarle NC. Rachel graduated from Lenoir-Rhyne College (now University) in 1967. While there she met her special love, Howard Whittington, whom she married following his graduation in 1968. Howard and Rachel enjoyed a wonderful and fulfilling marriage of over 53 years prior to his passing in 2021.
Rachel taught all levels of mathematics at South Stanly High School for 30 years. While she loved teaching different areas of mathematics, her favorite was always geometry. One of her favorite activities each year was teaching students how to make Moravian Stars. Former students were always coming up to her telling her how they had loved her class. They shared how they continued to display their Moravian Star years later.
After being taught how to cross-stitch by a cousin, Rachel continued to stitch for over 50 years learning various forms of cross-stitch. Beautiful pieces of art she created continue to be displayed in the homes of family and friends. She gifted pieces to churches where she was a member. As a long-time member of regional and national stitching guilds, she enjoyed traveling to various stitching events to both share her knowledge and learn from others. Rachel did not always need a pattern, often creating her own. She became a designer and created her own project winning two first place ribbons in a competition at one of the national events. One blue ribbon was for the design and another for the quality of the stitching of the same piece.
Rachel was a long-time member of First Lutheran Church in Albemarle, where she served as a Sunday school teacher and a member of Lutheran Women’s Group. After moving to be closer to family, she then became a member of First Lutheran Church in Greensboro. While there, she became active in Face Out.
In addition to her parents, Rachel was preceded in death by her son Chad Whittington, and husband Howard Whittington. She is survived by her son Russell Whittington of Greensboro, NC and daughter Kendra Whittington of Greensboro, NC.
Graveside service will be held at 11 am Saturday, May 3, 2025 at Stanly Gardens of Memory in Albemarle, NC followed by Memorial service at 3 pm at First Lutheran Church in Greensboro, NC with Rev. Michael Dickson presiding. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting memorials be made to Out of the Garden Project at www.outofthegardenproject.org who provides food and other assistance for children in need. Stanly Funeral Home in Albemarle, NC is assisting the family.
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