Rachel Gough Nicholas peacefully passed away nine-days shy of her 103rd birthday, on August 8, 2020, in Louisville, Kentucky. She was born Rachel Esther Gough, in Covington, VA, to William Ivan Gough and Edna Patterson Gough on August 17, 1919. She was their third child and only girl. Her parents would eventually move to New York City, seeking opportunity. Rachel was fortunate to attend Julia Richman High School, an all-girls commercial high school, located in Manhattan, which was known for rigorous coursework and a dress code; the students even had to make their own graduation dresses. The quality education prepared her for a career few women of generation would enjoy. Upon graduation, she had several jobs in New York City, including at a bank on Wall Street. However, after meeting the man of her dreams, Rachel would move south to Virginia and ultimately secure at job at the Headquarters of the AFL-CIO as an executive administrative assistant to the senior economist. In this position, she would see many powerful figures come to the building. She even, reluctantly, rode the elevator once with the President of the United States and his Secret Service. Rachel met John E. Nicholas, Jr, at a family gathering in Buckingham County and they were married less than a year later, on December 29, 1951. She once said, she knew immediately upon meeting John that he was the man she wanted to marry. Rachel and John lived in Maryland and Washington, D.C. during their professional years. It was during this marriage that both John and Rachel met and confessed Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and dedicated their lives to holiness living. They were happily married for more than 30 years. In 1983, a year after they both retired, John unexpectedly died of lung cancer. Rachel remained in their retirement house in Buckingham County, until she moved to Kentucky to be near her nieces. In Kentucky, she ultimately settled into an independent retirement community, where she found new joy and new friendships. When her health took a turn, she moved in with her niece and eventually transitioned to Hospice care, which was a great blessing in her last days. Rachel was predeceased by: her parents; her brothers, William Ivan Gough, Jr, Earl C. Gough and Kenneth Erskine Gough. She is survived by: her four nieces, Madeline Lauretta Nichols, Kathleen Gough DeMuth, Lori Jean Lance, and Dianne Elizabeth Hunziker; her nephew, Earl Lance Gough; as well as many wonderful extended families of second, third, and perhaps fourth cousins, good friends, and neighbors, who live in Virginia, New York, Florida, Tennessee, California and other states too many to recount.