She was surrounded by her family during the last challenging days, marked by sudden post-stroke complications at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Tacoma, Washington. We are thankful that her parents, children, and the majority of her siblings were able to gather and be with her during this time.
Amber is survived by her three children, Hannah, Callista, and Sean; her parents, Steve and Marie; her siblings Bethany, Jeff, Ryan, Laura, and Steven; and many extended family members who love her. She is preceded in death by her grandparents, Glenna and Cornell Blackham, Francis and Charlotte “Lottie” Lenz Lawlor, her beloved Aunt, Martha, and her beloved cousin, Carmen.
Amber was born in California, May 8th, 1976. She was the third of six children, and loved each of them despite their differences. From a young age, her parents taught her the importance of family, love, and faith in Jesus Christ. Amber lived in Long Beach, CA until 1979 before moving to Bellingham, WA. She lived with her Aunt Martha, who she adored, for about six months during her sophomore year of high school. Following a move to Kent, WA, her parents moved her to Bennigton, VT for her senior year.
Amber would later go on to say that while this move initially upset her, it led to her being able to graduate early and attend BYU, where she met her first husband, Michael. She was a hard worker who paid her own way into college, working for the BYU cafeteria and eventually planning her own wedding. No one can deny that Amber was stubborn and was willing to work hard for what she wanted and felt was right.
Amber was married in the Salt Lake City Temple in 1995 where she lived in Provo, Orem, and Taylorsville before moving with her husband to Washington State in 1997. She worked several odd-end jobs before working as a property manager for Countryside Apartments in Lynwood, WA, a job she would continue for many years. Following the births of her three children in 1999, 2001, and 2004, her family moved into their first home in Everett, WA off of Beverly Blvd. It was in this home that many happy memories were made, that her children have always cherished. Here she enjoyed many hobbies, including sewing, quilting, and family/friend activities. This Everett space served as a safe haven for her family for several years. Our Mom was in tears to leave it after a decade of time spent there.
Despite all the goodness that Amber carried, other demons stood in her path. A turbulent struggle with addiction led to events in her life both good and bad. She married again to her husband, Jeremy, in 2013 and moved to Arlington, WA into a home she shared with her three children and two step-children. While this relationship later ended, her children remember the relationship fondly. She later married Tom Dyer in 2021. Throughout this time, Amber lived with her parents in Port Angeles on many occasions, and enjoyed a close relationship with her Mother, Marie. Her battles with addiction led to a myriad of health concerns which led to the days we have faced this February.
Amber was a proud mother to her three children. We have all come to recognize that she lived her life for her kids. She wanted nothing more than to be a grandmother, and was expecting her first grandchild, Rose, from her daughter Callista this April. We find joy in the knowledge that their spirits will get to meet.
There are so many things we could say about who Amber was. Despite the challenges of the last thirteen years, who she was at her core was fun, daring, loving, and beautiful. She loved her Savior, and her influence on the lives of those who knew her is unmatched. That influence will be ever present throughout the lives of her children and grandchildren until they meet again.
A memorial service to celebrate her life will be held February 24th, 2024, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints at 795 Ell Rd, Camano, WA 98292. In lieu of flowers, her family asks that you donate to Al-Anon, an international mutual aid organization for people who have been impacted by the disease that is alcoholism. You can do so at: al-anon.org.
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