Rachel Hatcher had so many plans, so much life ahead of her.

The 29-year-old Terre Haute resident had a large binder filled with lists and other details to help her prepare for a July 4 wedding to Jose Mendoza; it was a ceremony she had dreamed about since she was a little girl.

A Union Hospital emergency room nurse, she intended to go back to school to specialize or possibly become a nurse practitioner.

A devoted mother, she cherished her time with her two children, 21-month-old daughter Alejandra Mendoza and 13-year-old son Brenton Touloukian.

But the wedding won't take place. There will be no graduate school. She won't be there to share in her children's milestones.

Rachel died Oct. 31 in an accident on Interstate 70 in Vigo County as she drove home from Greencastle, where she had picked up her son ahead of Halloween activities planned for that evening. The accident occurred three miles east of Indiana 46 when her Ford Expedition hit a tractor-trailer that was slowing or had stopped in a construction zone. Both children were injured.

No one knows exactly why Rachel failed to slow or stop in time. But family and friends do know that a person they loved — someone who was compassionate, giving and full of joy — died much too young.

She found her calling

In the words of her brother, Peter J. or P.J., Rachel had a smile "that lit up the darkest of rooms and could soften the hardest of hearts."

In comments during her funeral, he said of his big sister, "You made life so enjoyable and funny. Not sure I know another person that is or was so bubbly, full of life and energy and had a kind of magnetism that could draw you in so close with your sweet personality. It was infectious."

He also reflected that "part of you is in each and every life you touched, proving our assumption that your heart was boundless even to those who did you wrong. You just couldn't stay mad and had to let love in."

While Rachel grew up in Terre Haute, the family moved to Peru when she was a teenager, and that's where she attended high school. She moved back to Terre Haute to attend Indiana State University. Her mother, Faith Hatcher, taught and coached at West Vigo High School for several years.

During her years in Terre Haute, Rachel was heavily involved in 4-H and the Vigo County fair, where she showed goats and won junior showmanship and grand champion awards. When she graduated high school and moved back to Terre Haute, she always helped during the dairy goat show at the fairgrounds.

P.J. has many happy memories of Rachel, including the time she came to Lucas Oil Stadium in November 2013 to watch Tri-Central High School in Peru, where P.J. was an assistant coach, win the state 1A championship.

This past summer, his family vacationed with her family in Florida at Cape Canaveral and Orlando, and Rachel talked about taking future family vacations together.

He remembers how gullible she was and the times he and brother Phil would make up stories — at her expense. "She believed anything," P.J. said.

He tried to out-perform her academically when they both took the same World Geography class in high school — she was two years ahead of him, but he did slightly better.

Rachel also helped him make the decision to go into teaching at a time when he was considering other options while in college; today, he is an alternative program teacher and coach at Maconaquah High School in Bunker Hill. She told him, "Why wouldn't you want to be a teacher; you'd be so good at it. You care so much about people and like to help people learn. You have that right tone of voice."

His sister was care-free, fun to be around and someone who "lived in the moment," P.J. said.

Chris Strain, Rachel's half-sister who lives in Terre Haute, described her as "a beautiful person. Obviously, people saw that on the outside, but she was beautiful on the inside as well. She was a good person, devoted to her children."

Rachel, who liked karaoke, enjoyed riding horses and loved country music, spent a lot of time at Strain's house, especially when she returned to Terre Haute after her high school graduation. Strain's daughter and Rachel shared the same birthday, Dec. 16, although her daughter was two years older. "They were very close," she said.

Strain and her husband socialized with a group that likes to do karaoke, and sometimes Rachel would come along; she had her own stage name, Shannon. Rachel loved to sing, "but she sang so bad. We teased her about it," Strain recalled.

At Christmastime, Rachel would help decorate Strain's home and sing Christmas carols. Strain would tease Rachel, "please don't sing, but she didn't care."

Family members say it took Rachel a long time to figure out the right career path. In college, she changed her major several times while attending ISU, and she accumulated far more credits than needed to graduate.

Initially, she studied pre-vet. Later, she explored business and teaching. But it wasn't until she got a job as a certified nurse assistant at a nursing home that she found her life's calling. "Oh mom, I've figured out what I really want to do," she told her mother, who now teaches physical education at a Peru elementary school .

Eventually, after graduation from ISU, she became an emergency room nurse at Union Hospital, where she thrived. "That's where she felt she could best help people," P.J. said.

Somehow, Rachel always knew the right thing to do and say when dealing with families facing life-and-death situations, a nurse told P.J. "That was her forte," he said. She had great compassion and wanted to reach out and help others; he believes that's what drew her into nursing. Her glowing smile and warm, friendly demeanor helped people feel more at ease.

So many plans

As family went through her belongings after Rachel died, they saw all her hopes and plans for the future, including Christmas presents for her children and a gift for a relative who was expecting a child. "There was so much left undone," said P.J.

Rachel had a file or three-ring binder for everything — vacation ideas, wedding plans, school education plans and career ideas, said her mother, who also noted an assortment of quotes in a file. One quote taped to her desk read:

"Life is too short to be anything but happy. So kiss slowly, love deeply, forgive quickly. Forget about the past, but not what it has TAUGHT YOU. Take chances, always give everything you got, and have no regrets."

As he looks back, P.J. wishes he had spent more time talking to Rachel when he had the opportunity. She loved to talk on the phone, and it wasn't unusual for her to carry on a 1 1/2 hour conversation, speaking often with P.J.'s wife, Brittanie. "She had so many stories and she wanted to tell you every little detail," he said of his sister, who sought input from others.

"You don't know how fragile live is," he said. He understands the importance of living in the moment, because, "You're never promised any more than that."

Faith Hatcher cherishes her many happy memories of her daughter. Just two weeks before the accident, Faith came down to Terre Haute to be with Rachel when she tried on wedding dresses.

Coping with the loss of Rachel is a day-to-day struggle for the family, her mother said. "We really count our blessings," she said. Rachel left behind two special blessings, her daughter, Alejandra, and son Brenton. "We have a part of Rachel with us," Faith said.

She encourages people to value the time they have with their families and take the time to really listen to them and to encourage them. "I treasure the time I had and I don't dwell on the moments that won't be," Faith said. "I hold on to the memories I can cherish of how she lived, how she loved, and how she smiled."

Alejandra and Brenton

Rachel's children are recovering from their injuries. Alejandra, 21 months, broke multiple bones in both feet and wore casts for several weeks; those were taken off prior to Thanksgiving and she is able to walk and run. Doctors will re-examine her at age 2 to see if further treatment is needed.

Brenton, age 13, suffered broken bones in his right leg, hip and arm. The day after the accident, he had eight hours of surgery, which included reconstructive surgery to his nose and removal of glass from his face. He was in a wheelchair and had to keep weight off his leg. Now, he is using crutches and can walk several steps unassisted; Brenton is undergoing rehab.

He has not yet been back to school, but doctors say he will be able to return after Christmas break. He lives in Brownsburg. "He's doing really well," said P.J. The two of them recently attended a Colts game.

Physically, the children will be fine, P.J. Hatcher said. Emotional scarring may be more difficult to heal.

Celebrating Rachel's life

Dec. 16 would have been Rachel's 30th birthday.

The family — Faith and Frank Hatcher, P.J. and his wife and child, and brother Phil — honored her memory by gathering at Harvey Hinklemeyers in Kokomo, a restaurant where they used to meet Rachel when she came to visit. "We ate at the same table we did every time we met," P.J. said. "We were reminiscing and speaking of her and what was happening in our lives currently."

Often, she was the reason they gathered as a family. "She was kind of our glue and reason for getting together when she would bring her kids." That night, the family also spoke to Rachel's fiancé and son by phone.

On Dec. 19, when the weather was better, the family again gathered, this time to release balloons in her memory. They attached a signed card and a flower. "We hope it gets to where it needs to go," P.J. said.