Born in Hyannis, MA on March 13, 1981, as a young girl Amanda -- whom her parents and closest loved ones affectionately called “Panda” -- developed a love for different forms of dance. She especially enjoyed performing with Dance Designs in Hyannis.
Amanda attended Barnstable High School where she was a stand-out student-athlete, graduating in 1998. Aside from enjoying the fruits of academic success, she also relished being coached by her father who was the Girl’s Varsity Basketball Team coach during her final two years on the team.
Amanda went on to study psychology at Hampton University in Virginia, where she graduated in 2002 as a proud member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. Her love for children and child-advocacy issues led her to pursue and obtain her Master’s in Social Work from Bridgewater University in 2006.
She relocated to Charlotte, NC in 2007 and met her second family when she took a job with American Airlines, where she has worked as a Customer Service Agent for the past 13 years.
Amanda loved traveling the world and would often be in one country with her “girls” one weekend, return home to work, and be on a plane back to Cape Cod all in the same week. When she returned home to the Cape, she would often make surprise visits and leave as quietly as she came, sometimes all in a matter of hours.
Amanda loved Chinese food to the point where she would often not give others the choice to not love it with her.
With a smile as big as her heart, her greatest joy was the company of her goddaughter Maryana. When Amanda was on the Cape, you rarely saw her without Maryana. Two years ago, the birth of her nephew Jackson -- or “Jack Jack,” as she loved to call him -- joined the team with Maryana.
Amanda is predeceased by her paternal grandfather Edward Clarke, maternal grandfathers David Fernandes and Feliciano Tavares Sr., and sister Lisa Clarke.
She is survived by her parents Dr. Keith and Kathleen Clarke of Cummaquid, MA; her brother Jahni Clarke and fiancé Kayla Flaherty and son Jackson of Plymouth, MA; her sister Colsaria Henderson of Tracy, CA; her grandmother Mary “Grace” Tavares of Hyannis, MA; and her goddaughter Maryana Crawley of Hyannis MA.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Amanda’s name to the Lupus Foundation www.support.lupus.org.
A memorial service to celebrate Amanda’s life will be announced as soon as it’s safe for all family and friends to dance and rejoice together in her honor.
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