Rachel Ann Windham

Rachel Ann Windham was born in Houston, Texas on January 18, 1954. In 1964, the family moved to La Porte, Texas to a beautiful home by the bay. She attended La Porte schools and graduated in 1972. While in high school, she attended Vocational Education classes and was presented the opportunity to work at NASA where she stayed until she retired in 2009. Rachel started as a secretary working at Ellington AFB and was promoted to several administrative positions at NASA, including working for Deke Slayton in the astronaut office; with moon rocks; with engineers that invented GPS; with the teams that oversaw Space Shuttle launches and landings; in the Space & Life Sciences Directorate, with teams on Shuttle payloads, and safety onsite. She was very proud of the work she accomplished during her tenure at NASA and had remained life-long friends with several colleagues.

Her entire life she enjoyed dining, shopping, and traveling – especially cruising. She has seen a great deal of the world, many destinations multiple times. She was a frequent traveler to Las Vegas, several coastal locations in the mainland US, Hawaii, Mexico, South America, Europe, Northern Africa, and parts of Asia. She loved beaches and the sun. In the last twenty years, she discovered the joy of baseball with her daughter, and with her, enjoyed many games and events at the ballpark. Their memories are memorialized with a personalized baseball and bricks at Minute Maid Park.

Rachel was preceded in death by her father, Spero S. Pomonis; grandmothers Emma Lee Harmon and Soledad Villanueva Pomonis; and grandfathers George Washington Perkey, and Spero Nick Pomonis. She is survived by: her husband of 6 years, Joseph Szalai; her daughter Jennifer Windham and her husband Gene Trick and their son Jonathan, his wife Amirah, and granddaughter Naomi; her first husband of 34 years, Harold Windham; mother DeWanda Pomonis; sister Wanda Pomonis and her sons George & Justin Whaley; brother Nick Pomonis and his children Jason Pomonis, Whitney Sprott, Courtney Fontenot, Michelle Brown, and Nicki Messina; sister Deb Blackwell, her husband Mike Blackwell and their sons Charles & Benjamin Blackwell, and several great nieces and nephews.

Rachel will be remembered by all for her beautiful smile, her generous gifts, and her love of fun and adventure. We will miss her every day. She tirelessly cared for her dad and continued to care for her mom until she was too weak to continue. For the last 2 years, she bravely fought a difficult battle and finally succumbed to metastatic melanoma. Her journey continues…

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in care of Jennifer Windham, for a NASA Alumni memorial tree at the Gilruth Center, located at the Johnson Space Center in Rachel’s honor. Contact information for donations: 832-356-0891.

Visitation will be held Thursday, May 25, 2023 from 5:00PM to 8:00PM at Grand View Funeral Home, 8501 Spencer Highway, Pasadena, Texas 77505. A Celebration of Rachel's Life will be held Friday, May 26, 2023 at 2:00PM. Immediately following, she will be laid to rest at La Porte Cemetery in La Porte, Texas.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.grandviewfunerals.com for the Windham family.