Chronicle correspondent Rachel Haynie passed away last week. This is a loss to our newspaper readers and we who knew her.
 Here are a few tributes from readers.

Rachel was a giver
Rachel Haynie gave the rare gift of listening. She never met a stranger. 
She loved writing about art, history and theater,and knew dozens of artists, historians and actors. After she wrote about Greenville native and Nobel Prize winner Dr. Charles Townes, she stayed in touch with his children after he died.
She wrote hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles and 7 books on topics ranging from Columbia’s Army Air Base, to a B-25 recovered in Lake Murray. 
When Rachel fell and fractured several bones in June, she finished writing a promised article. Unable to walk by herself, she eagerly talked about people that she had met whose stories needed to be told. 
She was passionate about her grandchildren. She once drove four hours to Marietta, GA, just to see her grandchildren perform 4 minutes in a dance recital. Her friends love, remember and miss her. 
Pat McNeely, Columbia

 I first met Bunny, as I came to know her, in 1975. Many years later she would look me in the eyes and say, “Call me Rachel.”
“Something changed,” I thought. It’s my take that Bunny didn’t sound literary.
She brimmed with quiet energy. We sat together at a book signing where I told her about a secret project of mine and a wonderful smile broke out. “Oh that is the book you must write,” she said.
“Maybe so,” I thought but the book was whipping me. It must have shown.
A few days later, her emails poured in. Long, detailed, fabulous emails filled with advice and encouragement. Just what I needed. Somehow she sensed the project was getting the better of me. I resumed the work, and for that I thank Rachel. 
As I write I see her entering the room that December day. I cannot explain why but a passage from James Salter comes to mind.
“Not at first, and not until you accept that you are mortal, do you begin to realize that life and death are the same thing. (Here I substitute Rachel’s name) Rachel has gone elsewhere. Into the stars.”
When you gaze at the sky one night, you will see a star brimming with quiet energy. It has a name, call it Rachel.
Tom Poland, Columbia

Rachel is a huge loss to our community.
What a wonderful legacy she leaves with her accomplishments in literacy, journalism, history and so much that made our community a better place, plus her friendship, warm smile and wit. She made knowing her a personal blessing. Rachel will be missed. 
Scott Adams, Lexington

Bunny was a dear friend and sister. We met in the 1970s and became fast friends immediately. We were joined at the heart. 
I am among her many friends who is so happy and blessed she came into our lives.
Kay Gordon, Chapin

Rachel Haynie was a writer’s writer, passionately devoted to journalism, to honing her skills and pushing herself to do her best.
The books and articles she created will long endure. That is her literary legacy. 
Larry Timbs, Jr., Johnson City, TN