Obituary of Rachael Anne Shiels

Rachael Anne (Pott) Shiels passed away after a long, tough fight with cancer on June 18, 2022 surrounded by her family at her home in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Rachael was born to Alfred and Beverly Pott, their third child and only daughter, on May 21, 1970 in Prescott, Arizona. She spent her youth sewing with her mom or surrounded by animals and was an avid horse enthusiast. Thanks to her brothers and her father, she inherited a love of fast and powerful cars from a young age that never left as she got older. She graduated high school in 1988 and was crowned Prescott Rodeo Queen that summer, the 100th anniversary of the Rodeo. One year later, she met and began dating her husband, Ronald Michael Shiels. On April 20, 1991, they were married at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Prescott, Arizona and moved to Mather Air Force Base, California shortly thereafter.A proud Air Force wife, Rachael sustained her family throughout her husband's career through sixteen different moves across the continental United States. Despite dozens of deployments and many nights alone while her husband was away at war, she lovingly and faithfully raised their three children, homeschooling two. Devoutly Christian, Rachael often credited her incredible strength to the Love and Mercy of Christ and passed a strong faith onto her children.The descendant of iron-willed Germans and brave French Normans, Rachael loved fiercely and was known as much for her kindness as her stout attitude. A testament to her pioneer ancestors, she was self-sustaining and independent. When it came to her family, nothing on this earth stood in her way, nor was any fault too severe for her unending love to make whole again.As she loved, she taught to love, and saw all three of her children married, bearing twograndchildren before she died. Though separated from her parents and brothers by space and time, they never left her thoughts and the fond memories of her childhood were often the subject of conversation.Rachael worked tirelessly at home and in her community. Everywhere her family moved, she involved herself in the school system and through the church. She was renowned for taking in stray animals and giving her time and energy to the less fortunate. Her work at the church continued until she could no longer physically move, hampered by the tumors in her brain. Even then, she still found ways to give until her dying breath. A lion of a woman, she will be forever and bitterly missed by her family and all those whose lives she touched.Rachael is survived by her parents, Alfred and Beverly Pott; brothers, Gregory (Vivian) Pott, and Brian (Brandi) Pott; her husband, Lt Col Ronald "Michael" Shiels, USAF, (Ret.); three children, Tyler Shiels, Melanie (Andrew) Hodges, and Samantha (Juan) Alejandro; two grandchildren; and beloved beagle, Sparky. Donations on her behalf should be made out to St. Gabriel the Archangel Church and Church of All Nations in Colorado Springs, Colorado.Her family wishes to extend gratitude to all who have reached out in this trying time, with a special thank you to Father Kirk Slattery and Pastors Steve, Jeff and Sherman for nourishing her strength in God and that of her family in her final days.