A Gesture of Appreciation From The Family

Thank You For Your Love and Support

On behalf of the entire family of Amanda Cummings, this is a special “thank you” for the charitable gifts we received for the Amanda Cummings funeral fund.    We are eternally grateful to you all for your sincere sympathy, prayers and support during this very difficult time.  To those who contributed via regular mail and through Anonymous donations, we extend our appreciation to you as well.       

I am happy to announce with your support we raised $2,768.48 through the online donation blog.  This amount exceeded our expectations, and has been a great help to the family in paying the cost of funeral services. All the funds have been paid directly to A. Azzara Funeral Home and applied towards the full cost of services held this past week.  The "donation" option on the blog was officially closed on Friday, December 6^th, the final day of services for Amanda.   

We sincerely appreciate all the love and support everyone showed our family with your comments and contributions.  We wish you all the best health and happiness in this New Year. 

Kindest regards,

The Cummings Family and Weber Family

A Special Thank You To the Contributors:

Pamela Sullivan & Lori Wagner

New York

Francesca Antonelli
New Jersey

Sharon Hansen
New York

Debra Sutton
Virginia

Claire Edelstein
New Jersey

Michael Pezzengrilli
New York

Christina Ciccarelli
New York

Megan Henderson
Colorado

 

Mary D'Alba,

Spiritualitygirl.com
Massachusetts

Valarie Merillo
New York

Anthony Rodriguez
New York

Steven Brennan
New Jersey

Mary Lichtmacher
New York

Thomas Esch
New Jersey

Melissa Loduca
New York

Andrew Young
North Carolina

Paula Gioia
New York

Kristi Geonetta
Colorado

Carol Taylor
North Carolina

Aret Kayserilioglu
New York

Genevieve Nelson
New York

Rafael Caridad, Jr.
New Jersey

Aris Martinez
New York

Brandon Kenney
California

Shawn Nelson
New York

Donna Turner
Tennessee

Daniel Rosado
New Jersey

Wayne Stanton
New York

Mary Larkin
New Jersey

Meghan Ammirato
New York

Tina Davis
Georgia

Anonymous

Nevada

Viola Robles
Texas

Pauline Brandt
New York

Anonymous
Pennsylvania

Anonymous
New York

Micah Gorman
Florida

Linda L Sousa
New York

Joseph Jipping
Ohio

Angel Whitfield
Georgia

Patricia Ashcraft
California

Leigh Gainor
North Carolina

Robert Marano
New York

James Baur
New York

Premier Marketing Services & Expos
Pennsylvania

Anonymous
Connecticut

Thomasina Nista
New Jersey

Angela Tycenski & Jay
New York

Nadine Simonelli
New York

Ellen Barton
New Jersey

Guranjan Aulakh
Michigan

Kenneth Hass
New York

Madeline Bergin
New York

Ruben Rivera
New York

Eileen Donovan
California

Michelle Hotaling
New York

Jayne Weber
Florida

Mark, Karen, Sean, Andrew, and Ryan Weber

New York

Bartholomew DiVirgilio
New York

Stacy Lefkowitz
New York

Brandy Henderson
New York

Aleyah Llovet
New York

Julia Freitor
New York

Kim Molloy
New York

Charlene Nickolan
New York

Cathy Castro
New York

Please note:  The above individuals are those names who contributed directly through the online payment option of the blog and is not intended to exlude anyone. 

Cha Cha with a sista...

When Amanda was about five years old, she slept over my apartment. Just 1 of many times :) We rocked out to Jennifer Lopez's "Let's get Loud" and mad up our own 'SISTA SALSA', I swung her around and showed her how to Cha Cha! We loved it! Had so much fun! We talked about it and laughed about it for years to come! She was my baby, and always will be!! I love you, Amanda! You will live on in my heart forever.

Love forever your sister,

Dawn

Random memories from a broken hearted Aunt (by Diane Cummings)

Junior High School Prom

Amanda was over my house a lot these past few months, getting dresses from Ashley and asking her to do her hair and make up.  They would lay on Ashley's bed and talk about boys, and from the

kitchen i could here her laughing.  She would give our dog Lexie a hug, me a kiss and and yell "I love you" as she ran out the door with dress in hand delighted to going to party ....

Cece (mom), Me (Aunt Diane), Amanda and Uncle Keith

She was over during the summer to use the pool with her girlfriend, i didn't go back there to be the annoying Aunt, so I watched through the window to make sure they were OK, they were doing what 14 yr old do.laugh, joke, splash and play...at the time she wasn't 15 yet, her birthday was just around the corner....

Amanda and her Mom

She came with us to see "Tri Bella" at the the Lizard Lounge, she had such a great time,

we took pics and laughed and of course she had Ash do her make up for that night....

How I am going to miss her...she was a bright shining light!

Aunt Annie, Amanda and Cousin Ashley

Her junior high school prom was in June..we all went to her house to see her in her dress again Ashley helped her get ready...her mother Cece was there along with her Aunt Annie and uncle Keith to remember and share ... Again she was happy and glowing, such a pleasure to see... 

I will miss you my love, my little angel up above, with all my heart and tons of love...

Love Always,

Your Aunt Diane

Amanda, beloved daughter, sister, aunt, niece, cousin, friend and animal lover...

Daughter (Amanda & Cece)

Aunt Amanda, nephew Gregory

Sisters (Amanda and Dawn)

Amanda Christmas 2011

Recently a tragedy has befallen on our family, my dear sweet fifteen year old cousin Amanda was hit by a bus only two days after Christmas. Among the many injuries she sustained, the most severe was 
that of her brain. Tragically after a week long struggle to survive, her body gave up its fight for life and has succumbed to the Graces of God. At a time when her mother should be planning a sweet sixteen, she must now face the difficulty of planning a funeral, for the child she may never hold again. While in her most desperate hour, Amanda’s mother has had to make the most difficult decision of all, whether to donate this young angel’s organs to save the life of another. Selflessly she agreed, with the hope that Amanda's death would not be in vein and that she might be able to save the life or lives of others.

being silly

What a burden to bear for any parent, the sudden death of their child weighs heavily on them emotionally and financially. An unexpected tragedy, left only with the whys and hows of trying to make sense of it all. As a family we are grieving, it’s unimaginable how we just spent a family Christmas celebration together; where she danced, sang and mingled among family, happy to be surrounded by the joy and love of it all. Now in just the blink of an eye, we will never hear the sweet sound of her voice or her gentle laughter nor see her precious smile, and never again will we be able to ring in the New Year with our dear child Amanda.

Loving friend

About Amanda…she was a beautiful, healthy, happy, normal young girl, with a sweet gentle side, a creative artist and writer, a gentle soul that touched every person who was lucky enough to have known her. Her little body housed enough love to fill the world; for people, nature and animals all the same. Her only wish of repayment, was to have the same love returned unto her. She was a fifteen year old dealing with the things normal fifteen year olds deal with, she loved Katy Perry, she squabbled with her friends, she went to school dances and football games, gave herself manicures and went to sweet sixteen’s, and all the other in-betweens. There are many stories that can be shared about how Amanda has touched our lives in some way.   

I’ll share two short stories of my own, but if you would like to share a story (and/or photos), please email me so I can enter it as a blog entry or you can post your comments below. (hendersonbrandy1@gmail.com)

Animal Lover (by Brandy Henderson)

Animal Lover

Amanda once showed me her gentler side with animals; she was all of about six or seven and as always excited to have company, she wanted to introduce me to the wild squirrels she called her pets. There were two, they lived among the trees outside her home, let’s call them Larry and Barry (since I am unable to remember the names she picked for them). Amanda saw the squirrels and ran in the house and grabbed a bag of chestnuts, returning a few moment later, they both walked directly up to her as she kneeled down on the ground and spoke to them gently “hello Larry, hello Barry” and the first squirrel came directly up to her, rested its paw on one of her hands, while with the other paw took a chestnut out of her other hand, she chimed and spoke to the other patiently waiting his turn “here you go Barry”. That was a gift; she was able to communicate even at such a young age with animals, and later on in life with her poems and writings.

Birthday Girl (by Brandy Henderson)

13th Birthday

Another most delightful memory I shared with Amanda, was the celebration of her thirteenth birthday. We went to Time Square, the heart of New York City. The joy and surprise, the delight in her eyes, of the big city, the excitement in the air, the tall skyscrapers and the lights the joy that radiated from within her, it was priceless. Thirteen is a milestone for a child, and I’m grateful I was able to be part of that day, and that I was given the opportunity to share it with her. She shared a dream that day, (among the many she had), that one day she wanted to live in Manhattan among all that excitement, it matched the free spirited, happy go lucky joyfulness that filled her soul. It was a gift to know her and to share in those moments. I love her and will miss her always, now she is the Angel watching over me and I am truly blessed.

Donations
As a family, we are coming together at this most difficult time to mourn Amanda's loss. We are donating funds to help cover the cost of her funeral arrangements and services. If you would like to contribute, please select the donation button at the top of this page. Otherwise, you may mail a check or money order payable to Keith Cummings (our uncle) at:

Keith Cummings
373 Naughton Avenue
Staten Island, NY 10305
kcmplumbing@aol.com

Any and all contributions are greatly appreciated.

Cousin

Beloved family

Cousins

Created by one of Amanda's friends