Rachel Hoffman, or Rachel Somars as she was known by most, volunteered as a store manager five days a week at Meade Canine Resale Shop in Atascadero. The store donates all of its proceeds to helping low-income people spay and neuter their pets.
On Monday, she was on her usual walk to the store when she was hit by a pickup truck in a crosswalk at the Highway 101 southbound on-ramp at San Anselmo Road.
"She would walk here every day, and that's, that was something she loved, to get her steps in every day," said Carol Gibson, who volunteered with Rachel for four years at the resale shop.
She says she and the rest of the Meade team felt her absence this week.
"She just lived and breathed this store. She said to me just a few weeks ago, she said, 'Being here gives me such a sense of purpose,'" Gibson said.
That purpose, in large part, was helping animals in the community, both through rescue and supporting local pet owners.
"She was just a force to be reckoned with. She never took no, she never saw any task as impossible, and everything was for the animals," said Karen Aviko, a long-time friend of Rachel's who worked with her on animal rescue.
She says Rachel was born and raised in Atascadero and spent her life giving back to the community she loved.
"She was the most selfless person I ever met, and she inspired a lot of other people to be like her. I will miss her encouragement when I think I can't do this anymore," Aviko said.
Another long-time friend of Rachel's, Charlotte Meade, the owner of Meade Canine Resale Shop, said she was a one-of-a-kind personality who loved jewelry making and was an incredible person.
Meade says she will be starting the "Rachel Somars Tuesday Fund" in her friend's honor, to help continue her legacy of animal rescue in the area.
Details on that, and other ways to honor Rachel, can be found on the resale store's Facebook page or on their website.
