On August 11, 2026, Rachael Esther Ambruoso (McLaughlin) died peacefully in her home in North Carolina. Rachael was born in Boston, Massachusetts on November 21, 1940. She grew up in West Roxbury, graduated from Boston Latin School and Northeastern University. She then worked as a medical librarian, initially at Mass General, and then at St. Luke’s Hospital in New York City. In 1965, Rachael married her husband, Dr. Victor N. Ambruoso, who was completing a surgical residency at St. Luke’s at the time. For the next 30 years, Rachael and Victor lived in New York, where Victor practiced General, Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, and where they raised their three sons Andrew, Brandon and Christian.

In the late 1990s, Rachael and Victor moved to western North Carolina, where they could more fully enjoy their fondness for horses and open country. Always a leader with an adventurous spirit, Rachael was captain of her downhill ski team in college, and she excelled in all sports and endeavors she tried. Her primary passion, however, was horseback riding. She was an excellent equestrian with an unmatched love for horses and animals of all kinds. A most generous, hard-working, loyal and loving friend, mother, grandmother and wife, Rachael will be deeply missed by all the lives she touched. She is survived by her sons Andrew and Brandon, and her grandchildren Brigid and James.

Visitation and Funeral services from The Robert J. Lawler & Crosby Funeral Home, 1803 Centre St. West Roxbury. A Mass of Christian burial was celebrated in St. Theresa of Avila Church. Interment St. Joseph Cemetery.