I have been hoping Ty would do this because he is such an eloquent writer and I don't feel that I can write about something so precious. I will do my best to put emotions into words.
Yesterday I received news that a dear friend, Amanda Gunter had passed away. We were close friends from BYU Hawaii. We had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with Gunters while we were living there. We went to the Big Island and Kauai together. We enjoyed playing games and having beach bon fires with them regularly. And of course we enjoyed Amanda's good cooking on a regular basis - because the Gunters were always THE entertainers for all of TVA (temple view apartments). Everyone knew them and loved them. Amanda was beautiful, friendly, creative, crafty, social, a talented artist, handy with hair and scissors and very loving. She had a knack for taking care of everything and everybody.
After Levin graduated from BYU they moved to S Carolina to be with family. Last Thursday they were driving back from visiting Levin's parents in North Carolina. Just before midnight their car swerved off the road. From my understanding in an effort to regain control of the car the car flipped upside down and then they were T-boned by an oncoming van. Amanda had been in the back seat setting Ansley (there 1 year old girl) up with a movie and had returned to the front seat, but had not buckled back up when the collision happened and was thrown from the car. She was taken to the hospital where she died later that morning. Levin is in critical condition and is in and out of consciousness. During one of his conscious moments he was wheeled into Amanda and had the opportunity to see her one last time before she passed on. He understands what has happened and has said that he doesn't feel he can love anyone ever again as much as he loved her.
She was an amazing woman. It was always awe inspiring how much she could get done in a day. No one, save Christ, is perfect, but she has to be about as close as anyone could be. Levin too is amazing and I know that he will be an incredible father and will be able to recover from all of this. Speaking of Ansley she is fine and in the care of her grandparents.
I am so grateful to have the knowledge of the blessings of the temple and to know that this is just a time apart and that we will be able to see her again. I just wish we could have had more time, but I guess the question of how much time remains. I don't think 5 more years would have been enough, nor ten, nor fifty. I guess I will have to work on being grateful for the time I was able to know her.
3 comments:
my goodness! I remember her although they moved into our ward towards our stay at TVA...Wasn't she like the president of primary? or RS? Man! that's soo sad...i hardly knew her, but just to know she had a one year old daughter and died suddenly is just so sad..it just shows that HEavenly father's time is not necessarily coincide with our time here on earth huh? thanks for the news amber! hope you guys are doing great
Isn't it so sad about Amanda? I feel so blessed to have known her and to feel of her spirit. We miss them dearly but know that Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us. Our loss on earth is heaven's gain. Love you guys!
Amber, thank you for your beautiful tribute to Amanda. Also, thank you for being so diligent in informing people about what happened. Chris saw the facebook post of her death notice today. I was in the kitchen and heard him say, "Oh my gosh, no, no, oh my gosh." We were in disbelief as we went from website to website trying to put the pieces together. We even looked up news articles. I am struggling to get ahold of my emotions as I think of my personal experiences with Amanda and then try to digest what Levin and Amanda's family are going through. She is truly a magnificent woman and I will miss her dearly. Thank you again.
-Angele Coburn
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