Rachelle was born on May 20, 1931, in Grant, Iowa to William and Ruth Breeling Pogue. She was raised on the family near Grant and graduated from Villisca High School. Following her high school education she studied art history at Grinnell College and received a BA degree.
On August 3, 1952, she was married to Raymond E. Standerwick Jr. in Villisca. The couple lived in various Iowa communities before moving to Grinnell in 1957. She was a homemaker and mother.
