Career
Rahmel taught in elementary and later secondary schools. In 1970 she had been a Peterborough teacher for 20 years with the English Department of the Peterborough Collegiate and Vocational School, becoming the head of the English Department before she retired. She was also assistant to Gwyn Kinsey, editor of Saturday Night, and was an active participant in theatre and writing.
In their 1970 Spring Convocation, Trent University awarded her an honorary Doctor of Laws degree, and in 2002 she established the Fern A. Rahmel Bursary there for mature women.
She also gave talks to the Peterborough Historical Society, and published an occasional paper on Field-Marshal de la Fosse, Peterborough"s first librarian.