Amanda DuBois, 62, passed away peacefully in her home in Mountain View, Calif., on Dec. 16, 2017. Along with her lifelong courageous struggle with debilitating chronic depression, she also fought and survived advanced stage breast cancer discovered in 2016. While cardiac arrest was the immediate cause of her death, the harsh cancer treatment was a contributing factor to her various health issues.

Amanda was born May 29, 1955, to Andrew and Aliton DuBois, in Berkeley, Calif. She was a cheerful child with boundless curiosity. Complete strangers often felt compelled to comment on her infectious dimpled smile which charmed everyone. She graduated from San Diego High School in 1973 and attended San Diego State where she received her degree in linguistics.

The highlight of her life was the birth of her beloved son Daniel in 1982, who later introduced her to her true life's work. She had held a wide-ranging list of jobs from working in the U.S. Navy's engineering department, to managing her then-husband Michael Lehman's IT consulting business, to teaching English as a second language. When Daniel and his wife Tessa gave Amanda her first grandchild, she realized her most fulfilling work was with young children so she returned to school to obtain certification in early childhood development.

Amanda is survived by her father, Andrew O. DuBois; Daniel, Tessa, Declan and Delilah; sisters Tshea (Sam), Barbara (Karl), Emily (David) and Julie (Peter); her nieces and nephews Amanda, Andy, Aaron, Hannah and Katherine; and her grandnephew and -niece Phoenix and Austen.

She was taken from us all too soon but we are comforted in the knowledge that she is now beyond suffering. She will be greatly missed. In lieu of flowers the family suggests donations to Native Animal Rescue, the Gorilla Foundation, the Seva Foundation, UNICEF, ASPCA or any charity that supports children or animals.