A 32-year-old woman who was a Buffalo Grove native died after she fell during a hiking accident at a national park in Washington state, officials said.
Rachel Heiss, 32, of Seattle, Washington, died on September 9 at Mt. Rainier National Park in Washington.
Heiss fell while hiking at the park, according to the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office.
The park was one of her favorite places in the world, her obituary said.
The medical examiner ruled the manner of death as an accident and the cause of death to be multiple blunt force injuries.
Heiss grew up in Buffalo Grove and graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in marketing communications, according to her obituary. She was the senior class president.
“Rachel was incredibly accomplished in her field, collecting many awards and admiration along the way,” her family said in the obituary.
She worked for McCann New York, Boston Beer, Starbucks and Nestlé. She most recently worked for Amazon in Seattle.
“In both her professional and personal lives, she was known as the “connector” for her ability to bring people together. Rachel loved sports, especially the Chicago Cubs. She rallied friends and colleagues to games (no matter the team or sport) in every city she lived in, and even played hooky with her twin brother and cousin to see the Cubs,” her obituary said.
Heiss’ family said her “beautiful smile, infectious laugh, and warm, happy demeanor lifted the spirits of all those who were touched by her presence.”
A funeral service was held this past Friday at Chicago Jewish Funerals in Buffalo Grove.