Amanda Nadine Silva

Amanda Nadine Silva was born on November 5, 1992 in Brazil to Josenaldo Napoleão Silva & Marcia Elizabeth Vieira Napoleão Silva. She was the only child from this marriage and spent the earliest part of her childhood in Recife, Brazil. Amanda’s mother passed when she was four years old, due to complications with diabetes. Amanda was then raised by her aunt, Marilda Uldicea Silva, who Amanda grew up calling her “mom”. Marilda, or “Lilly” as she’s known had a daughter, Aline. Aline then became Amanda’s sister and also played a motherly role in her life. This is the family she knew and loved. Amanda came to Dallas at the age of 10 and adjusted very quickly to elementary school here in the U.S. She learned the English language in a heartbeat, she was so bright. Amanda was competitive and had a great sense of humor. At times, she could be stubborn, rebellious and over dramatic, but that’s our “Amandinha”.

Amanda, or “Mandica”, as she was sometimes called, attended and graduated from Plano West Senior High School, Class of 2011. She maintained good grades throughout her educational path. After high school, she went to work as a customer service receptionist for the Adolphus Hotel in Dallas. She loved her job, as she was able to interact with people from all walks of life. She was eager to help others and excellent at de-escalating upset guests, a natural problem resolution specialist. She had plans to grow and excel in the hospitality industry. She was fluent in Portuguese, English & Spanish. Amanda had an incredible facility with electronics and technology. Music was in her blood, and part of her routine. She played several instruments, the violin, the piano and the guitar. She particularly liked to create instrumental music herself. She also loved electronic music. Her favorite movie was “City of God” and her favorite book was “A Walk to Remember”. She was “a hugger” and very expressive of her feelings and thoughts. She would even leave hand-written notes for Lilly and Aline to find. A happy surprise.

Amanda was proud of her Brazilian heritage. She enjoyed traditional Brazilian food and celebrating her culture. She was very accepting of all people, no matter what race or ethnicity they were. What a loving soul she was. She was a natural magnet to children, and loved being among the little ones. She loved being with her nephew, Blake, and they would refer to each other as “Love”. She mentioned several times that Blake was one of her purposes in life.

Amanda, was a loving young lady, full of life, and very upbeat. Though she wore this facade very well, those who were close to her, knew of her struggle with drug use. She fought hard with this issue, and wanted to live a healthy life. Though she had recently been doing well and seemed happy, she succumbed to the shadows of an old addiction, which, sadly, took her away from this Earth. Amanda aspired to be a drug counselor to help others with the same problems. She was and still is an inspiration to those left behind, to never give up on living the life you want, and that with God, all things are possible.

On Saturday, November 1, 2014, God came to take her Home. She was embraced in Heaven by her mother, Marcia Silva, whom she looked so much like her.

Her life will continue to be celebrated and remembered forever by her family here and in Brazil. Lilly Silva of Dallas; her father Josenaldo Silva of Recife ~ PE, Brazil; her sister at heart, Aline Speer and her husband Blue, of Dallas; her nephew Blake; her boyfriend David Paera; and many more cousins, relatives and close friends. Amanda’s last words when she left home that day, were words of happiness and love. She said “bye, mom, I love you more than anything and you are the most important thing in my life.”