Amanda Lucille Proudfoot, 55, died on August 29, 2008, at her home in Sedro- Woolley, Washington.
She was the eldest daughter of Clare Boyer Proudfoot and Helen Fling Proudfoot and was born on June 5, 1953 in Bowling Green, Ohio
She spent her childhood in Temperance, Michigan with her parents, her siblings and her aunt, Gladys Fling. She attended Parkwood Elementary school and Bedford Senior High School.
Amanda loved to sing and toured Europe in her senior year with the Bedford HS Soiree Choir. She played the flute and the guitar in the Bedford High School band.
After High School Amanda attended Michigan State University and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Community Services specializing in Early Childhood Education.
After graduation she worked as a teacher for the Lucas County Early Childhood Development Program in Toledo, Ohio.
She married Alan Monday in October of 1978 and moved across the country from Michigan to Spokane, WA shortly after their wedding. In 1979 Amanda and Alan moved to Skagit County, WA and began their married life as House Parents for Skagit Group Ranch Homes in a rural Group Home for troubled adolescent boys.
In nearly 30 years in the Skagit Valley Amanda has touched the lives of countless children and their parents in her work as an educator and administrator with several agencies and programs.
Amanda was a talented artist. She excelled at painting, clay sculpture and mosaics. Amanda’s true gift and inspiration was in teaching and sculpting the lives of children through her years of work and leadership in Head Start, Cooperative Pre-School Programs, Early Learning programs, Group Home and Foster Care Programs and for the last several years as the Coordinator of the Skagit County 4-H Program.
At an early age her parents instilled in her and her siblings a drive for caring and protecting those less advantaged. In her employment, her community involvements and her active volunteer efforts she has always been a strong voice in advocating for programs for children and disadvantaged adults. But for Amanda raising her voice and lifting our hearts was more than an avocation or even a vocation. As is her style, she carried over her passion for caring for others into her own life and home as a foster parent and as a single adoptive parent.
Amanda is survived by her daughters, Katie Eileen Monday and Thea Jerusha Monday; her son, Odin David Proudfoot; her mother, Helen Fling Proudfoot; her sister, Sarah Proudfoot of Temperance MI and four brothers, Dr. Jeffrey Proudfoot of Phoenix, AZ, Gregory Proudfoot and wife, April of Midland MI, Daniel Proudfoot and wife Jan, of Belaire, MI and Dr. Matthew Proudfoot and wife, Andrea of Detroit, MI. Amanda also had 4 nieces and 7 nephews.
Her ‘Washingtonian Family’ along with her children, includes her former husband and friend, Alan Monday and his partner Catherine Kerwick, Jay and Dea Conway of Bellingham, Chris, Mary Lou, Jake, and Geoffrey Melly of Port Angeles, Michael and Anne Laue and her sons, Russell and Andy Benefield of Sedro-Woolleyand Harm, Joan, Kim, Carmen and Derrick DeVries of Mount Vernon. Regrettably, her close friends are too numerous to mention them all.
She was preceded in death by her aunt, Gladys Fling and her father, Clare Boyer Proudfoot.
We remember her striking beauty, her deep brown eyes, her beautiful smile, her laugh and her wry sense of humor. We remember her joy of life and her love of children, art, gardening and nature. We will never forget her extraordinary loyalty and devotion to those she loved, her generosity and kindness to everyone she met, her unending dedication to her work and her open and forgiving heart that had a warm and special place for each of us. We will miss her terribly. We thank her for the special joy she brought to our lives, and we will cherish the memories of the time we were blessed to be able to share with her.
We would especially like to thank Dr. George Gjerset, Dr. Bruce Skinner, and the nursing and secretarial staff of the Skagit Valley Hospital Regional Cancer Care Center. Their unending care, love, and support will never be forgotten by our family.
A memorial service will be held at the Blanchard Chapel, 3685 Legg Rd, Blanchard WA on Saturday, September 6th at 1:00 P.M. with a celebration of her life to follow at 2:00 P.M. across the road at the Blanchard Community Center.
Donations in Amanda’s name may be made to the Skagit Valley Hospital Regional Cancer Care Center and The Skagit County 4-H Program.
Cremation arrangements are under the direction of Lemley Chapel, Sedro-Woolley.