Amanda Meiborg

AMANDA LEIGH MEIBORG 2/9/84 - 10/14/03 When a shining light goes out the world becomes a darker place... Amanda was our bright shining star. She was a beautiful caring daughter, sister, granddaughter, niece, cousin, a good friend, an excellent student, and she loved animals - especially cats. She was often a quiet person but once in awhile chattered on non-stop! Amanda was honest loyal dependable on the reserved side and sometimes very stubborn! Her eyes were a sparkly green and she had bouncy "boingy" curls. She adored her car - a white 1990 Toyota Celica with a moon roof – and had a great group of friends.

Amanda volunteered at the DuPage County (IL) Animal Shelter for several years. She spent a lot of time in the cat room (now named The Amanda Room) and both of her cats were adopted from the shelter (and they miss her too). She also played the violin from 4th grade through her senior year of high school and played soccer through the Winfield Park District many years. By the middle of her sophomore year of high school she set a goal of becoming a valedictorian. She worked very hard and reached that goal despite having surgery to remove a tumor just five weeks prior to graduation. Her academic achievements were outstanding and she earned many awards and scholarships. During her junior year after researching many universities Amanda decided that ISU was the place for her - especially after visiting the campus! She was planning to major in Zoology. A year of chemo dashed her plans for her freshman year; however she attended our local community college and only missed one class (and earned all A’s!). Before the cancer recurred, Amanda was able to attend orientation as a sophomore at ISU and she had such a great time! She spent the night in a dorm room, had a very nice roommate, toured the campus and buildings, ate in the cafeteria - she knew her way around campus and never got lost. She was a very happy ISU student for those two days.

Amanda is our heroine because of how she lived her life especially her last year and a half - with quiet dignity, determination, and courage. She rarely complained, just focused on trying to beat that horrible disease and live a normal life while doing so. The Plaza of Heroines, infront of Catt Hall, at Iowa State University is the absolute perfect place in which to honor Amanda’s memory. "A butterfly lights beside us like a sunbeam and for a brief moment its glory and beauty belong to our world. But then it flies on again and though we wish it could have stayed we feel so very lucky to have seen it." - (author unknown) To all the children who have died, we wish you peace, happiness, warmth, and love always. Amanda’s loving family and friends.

5/18/05

"Paver Inscription:

"Amanda Meiborg
2/9/84-10/14/03
We Wish You
Love Happiness
Warmth & Peace"