Rachel Blevins

Oakland freshman Rachel Blevins called her friends “the Wolfpack” in high school.

She called herself “momma wolf” and the other girls were her “cubs,” lifelong friend Chad Martin said.

She wanted to someday be a mother, Martin said.

“That’s why she started sewing and she always cooked for all of us,” Martin said.

Blevins, 19, left behind memories of a caring and giving woman when she died early Saturday morning.

A 2003 graduate of Bowling Green High School, Blevins lived in Oakland with her parents, Chris and Kelly Blevins, and her brother Meritt, 11.

“Her mother said that God wanted to take her to be one of his angels and take care of people like she had been doing here,” family friend Shelly Butler said.

Rachel Blevins had a glow about her and a vibrant personality, Martin said.

“She just wanted to do good to all people,” Martin said. “She was a giver. Her whole life was about helping people.”

Rachel Blevins was a member of Phi Mu sorority and loved to be around her friends, Butler said.

In high school, Rachel Blevins was a member of the prom committee, a part of school musicals and dramas, an office aide and a peer tutor for special needs students.

Rachel Blevins was especially gracious to the students she worked with, said Gary Fields, principal of Bowling Green High School. The students loved her and loved to be around her.

“She was the kind of person that everybody liked,” Fields said. “She had a great smile. She was always very polite, always smiling.”

Rachel Blevins was interested in interior design.

“She touched so many people’s lives,” Martin said. “Rachel accomplished what she set out to do and that was to always help others.”

* Visitation for Rachel Blevins will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. today at Hardy and Son Funeral Home in Bowling Green and from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday at Oakland Baptist Church. Funeral services will follow at 1 p.m. at the church. Expressions of sympathy may be sent to the Rachel Blevins Scholarship Fund through South Central Bank on Louisville Road.

– Jessica Sasseen

Rachel Cate

Rachel Cate wouldn’t have missed the night of glamour, fashion and fame.

But tragedy struck the day before.

The Nashville freshman was one of three Phi Mu sorority members killed in a car wreck on Saturday.

Those closest to Rachel Cate remember her outgoing personality, sense of humor and love for family and friends.

“She was obsessed with award shows,” said her cousin, Amy Cate, 22, of Nashville.

David Cate, Rachel’s father, was playing with his two younger sons when he got the call from the coroner at about 11 a.m.

He spoke softly about his daughter who was like a second mother to her 2, 3 and 15-year-old brothers.

Rachel Cate was an education major at Western and wanted to teach elementary school. But she’d also considered teaching special education.

She loved children, Amy Cate said.

Rachel Cate also held several class officer positions and was a manager for the baseball team at John Overton High School.

She acted in several theater performances.

Rachel Cate was excited about attending Western and joining Phi Mu sorority.

“She was very excited about being in a sorority,” friend Jim Bryan of Nashville said.

David Cate said all of Rachel Cate’s best friends from high school went to different colleges and she was homesick her first semester.

She eventually settled, he said. The number of trips home decreased her second semester.

David Cate said he will miss the constant flow of friends his daughter brought home.

“She’s always been bubbly and talkative and just enjoyed having a group of people around her,” he said.

* The funeral is at 1 p.m. today at the Crievewood United Methodist Church in Nashville. Visitation will be held from 11 a.m. until the beginning of the funeral at Hickory Chapel in Nashville.

– Shawntaye Hopkins

Katie Jeter

The last thing Katie Jeter told her parents on Thursday was “I love my life.”

But the life that she and many others loved ended when she died Saturday morning.

Katie Jeter, a freshman from Franklin, Tenn., was a member of Phi Mu sorority and active in the Student Government Association.

Her father, Kurt Jeter, said she was having a great time at Western and loved everything about being on campus.

“She was a very special person, a very Christian person,” Kurt Jeter said. “She had a lot of friends.”

Ronald Griffeth, president of Battle Ground Academy where Katie Jeter was a 2003 graduate, said she worked to make life better for those around her.

“She was just a wonderful person as judged by everybody that came in contact with her,” Griffeth said. “She had a ready smile and was so pleasant. And felt so strongly that she was here to support others and serve others.”

Katie Jeter was dedicated to school and spent a lot of time studying, her father said. She was awarded an academic scholarship from Western and named a Presidential Scholar.

Kurt Jeter said his daughter was interested in entering Western’s master’s program in speech pathology.

He said she wanted to work in a clinical setting after graduation.

In high school, Katie Jeter was a member of several academic, social and athletic groups.

“Katie was the ultimate team player,” said Mark Seyfred, volleyball coach at Battle Ground Academy. “She played up to her ability and was always supportive of her teammates.”

Kurt Jeter also expressed his daughter’s love for her family, including her mother, Mamie, and two older brothers, Matt and Ben.

“In everything she did, Katie did it with great determination and compassion, and did it very well,” Griffeth said.

* Funeral services are scheduled for 3 p.m. today at First United Methodist Church in Franklin. Expressions of sympathy may be sent to Battle Ground Academy or First United Methodist Church, both in Franklin.

– Jessica Sasseen