Rachael Lillis Mourned By Colleagues, Successors, And Pokémon Itself
The voice actress died on August 10 from breast cancer, first announced by Veronica Taylor and sister Laurie Orr
There was great outpouring of grief and support all throughout Monday as word came down that veteran voice actress Rachael Lillis, known for her work with 4Kids Entertainment, including most prominently as the original English dub voices for Pokémon’s Misty, Jessie, and the recurring Jigglypuff, had succumbed to breast cancer on Saturday, August 10, at an age known best by her colleagues. More on that later. One of those colleagues, Veronica Taylor, who voiced Ash Ketchum, his mother Delia, and May, announced her death even before Lillis’s own sister could, but she wasn’t the only one to give a statement. In fact, one statement came from an unexpected but very welcome place. None of these will be in chronological order, but instead a specific one.
Eric Stuart, who was teamed with her as both Brock and James, as well as Butch, the entire Squirtle line, Scyther and Scizor, all of Poliwag’s evolutions, and Victreebel (including every major individual of the species you can think of) in that original era, wrote “So sad. She was one of the funniest, sweetest, kindest people. My dear friend for so many years. Celebrate her life by watching OG Pokemon, especially Team Rocket, she will always be my partner in comedic crime. RIP my friend.” He told the New York Times in a phone interview, “If you met her, you’d not say this was so natural for her. Rachael in real life was pretty low key, kind of quiet and sweet.” Stuart added “The minute she stepped in that booth it was like this whole other energy came out.” The article finally clarifies details about Lillis’s age and background: She was born July 8, 1969, in Niagara Falls, New York, confirming her to be 55 years old. She graduated from Smith College, where she was pre-med, Orr said. Their mother, Constance Lillis, was a homemaker, while their father, John Lillis, is retired from maintenance management and from the Navy. They have four sisters, all of whom survive Rachael with Laurie: Colleen King, Brenda Lillis, Pamela Lillis Robertson, and Jacqueline Lillis.
Tara Jayne Sands, who voiced Ritchie, young Professor Oak in Pokémon 4Ever, and Bulbasaur (Ash’s, May’s, all of em), and currently hosts the 4Kids Flashback podcast said “It is an incredibly sad day. I can’t say this any better than Veronica did, but please know that Rachael saw your messages and contributions and was so touched and so grateful. She is out of pain now. A wonderful person gone way too soon.” When the GoFundMe went live, it was Sands who organized auctions and raffles of signed memorabilia by dozens of 4Kids Pokémon alums (including the original Officer Jenny!) to raise money, money she says will now go directly to a cancer charity.
Current voice director Lisa Ortiz started out as Misty’s sister Daisy and Saffron City Gym Leader Sabrina. She took a bit to collect her thoughts, and managed to get out “The contribution That Rachael Lillis made to this franchise and lives and childhoods across the world is immeasurable. Her talent was immense. She had a wonderful soul. And a wit. Personally I have so much more to say, but you just have to watch her work to see that talent. <3”. Those thoughts were compiled quoting the statement on the matter from the official Pokémon account. Yes, it was that major. The statement said:
We are deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Rachael Lillis. Her performance in the Pokémon animated series will be cherished by the many fans who grew up with the characters she brought to life with her special talent.
She will be remembered for generations to come, and we will always keep her close in our hearts. Our thoughts and condolences are with her family and friends.
Of course, there was the second-generation main cast, where most of 4Kids’s talent was replaced with new actors. While some came back over time, some with elements of permanence like Ortiz, others like Taylor and Stuart didn’t. Lillis only did once, as Veilstone Gym Leader Maylene in the DP Battle Dimension season. Which means for those episodes, she did work with Sarah Natochenny, the second voice of Ash, and Michele Knotz, who succeeded Lillis in all three of her major roles (even if Jigglypuff took exactly 668 episodes to return from the last 4Kids-dubbed appearance). Natochenny tweeted (twice, due to an initial spelling error) “I am deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Rachael Lillis. We never got to meet, but like many of you, I grew up with her wonderful performances as Misty and Jessie. I’d like to extend my deepest condolences to her loved ones as they navigate this devastating loss.” Knotz had previously expressed, when the GoFundMe went up, that she and Lillis met on a gig together and was a fan of a few of her roles, Utena from Revolutionary Girl Utena most of all, and that was reiterated here in her statement “I've been staring at the walls today thinking about how quickly life goes by and anyone can be taken away from us in an instant. It's been too frequent, too scary and too heartbreaking. I had the honor and privilege of working with Rachael on The World of Narue, but I was already a huge fan of her work. My favorite role of hers was Utena from Revolutionary Girl Utena. She was a beautiful soul with incredible talent. I've been going through old pictures and I could've sworn I had one with her. Unfortunately, I couldn't find it, so I'll share these. "May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest." ❤️”
And then there’s the current cast of the Horizons series, who get to be part of the world in a time where there’s the returning 4Kids talent, the post-4Kids talent, and the fresh blood. Alejandra Reynoso, who voices main character Liko, wrote Like so many, I was deeply saddened to learn of Rachael’s passing—despite never having the pleasure of meeting her myself, I became a Pokémon fan in large part due to her charming, remarkable work on the show. She touched so many. My heartfelt condolences to her family + friends.” Zeno Robinson voiced co-protagonist Goh in Journeys and now voices Roy’s Fuecoco wrote “I never met her personally, but her life and her work was foundational to the person I am today. Pokémon was foundational to me, and her work is in its DNA. Hearing everyone’s personal stories about her breaks my heart even more. We will remember you forever ❤️” And finally there’s Daman Mills, who voices Dot’s Quaxly and Explorers member Amethio, who wrote I never got a chance to meet her, but I know her work well through watching Pokémon as a kid. So incredibly sad, cancer is horrible. Sending love to all of who knew her personally and to everyone her work touched throughout the years. RIP #RachaelLillis 💜”
Rachael Lillis, you will be missed by so many. Rest well.
Sources: Eric Stuart, Tara Jayne Sands (1, 2), Lisa Ortiz, Pokémon, Sarah Natochenny, Michele Knotz, Alejandra Reynoso, Zeno Robinson, Daman Mills, New York Times