Rachel Copeland Pickett

Funeral services for Rachel Pickett will be held Thursday, December 1, 2022, at 2:00 p.m. from Sandtown Methodist Church with Rev. Hal Hall officiating. Visitation will be held one hour prior to service at the church. Burial will follow in the church cemetery. Mrs. Pickett, 80, died Saturday, November 27, 2022, in Birmingham, AL Rachel was born on May 26, 1942 in Philadelphia, Mississippi, where she spent the first eight years of her life on a farm. She spent her childhood running through the woods and fields of Neshoba County with her numerous cousins and aunts and uncles. After moving to Jackson, MS, she enjoyed singing on the radio on Saturdays, and as she grew older, collected multiple boyfriends. She fell in love with college student Paul Peeples, and after being late for curfew one night, her parents put her on restriction. Rachel responded by eloping with him and embarking on the life of an officer’s wife, a journey that would take her all the way to Anchorage, Alaska. She would remain in love with Alaska for the rest of her life. Rachel wanted six kids but Paul convinced her to settle for four. And though they kept her very busy, she never failed to serve on the PTA or be a room mother for each of her children. When her husband died, she returned to Jackson, MS, to be near her parents. But it would not be long before another man came calling. In 1981, she married Major General George B. Pickett, Jr. and moved to Montgomery, Alabama, where she resumed her “career” of playing bridge and was reported to be one of the best duplicate bridge players on the Montgomery country club circuit. She was delighted to become a grandmother, and each grandchild that followed was the fortunate recipient of her immense love. She loved to travel and continued up until the last year, when her health dictated a move to Birmingham, Alabama and more stationary activities. Rachel was immeasurably generous and had the ability to love unconditionally. No one she knew ever went without anything, especially love. She was a true Southern belle. She will be missed forever by those who were lucky enough to know her. Survivors include sons, Van Peeples of Colorado Springs, CO, and Josef Peeples of Birmingham, AL; daughter, Melanie Peeples (Russell Lewis) of Homewood, AL; five grandchildren, Van Peeples, Jr., Paul Peeples III, Copeland Peeples Cahill (Ryan), Dylan Case, and Max Lewis; one great-granddaughter, Rachel Copeland Cahill; and sister, Melaney Hamilton (Dexter). Mrs. Pickett was preceded in death by husbands, Paul W. Peeples and George B. Pickett, Jr.; son, Paul W. Peeples, Jr.; parents, Bernis and Talitha Copeland.