Cynthia “Cindy” G. Amundson
Cindy will always be remembered for the love and affection she showed her family and friends. Time and again, she found incredible strength and courage to face her inner adversary. On the night of Monday, November 28 at home, she succumbed to her inner pain and set herself free. Cindy was 69 years old.
Cindy Amundson was born in Bozeman, Montana on February 8, 1953. She was the second daughter of Leonard “Duz” and Beth Amundson. After starting as a postmaster in Pray, MT, Duz went into education and took Cindy and his girls along his career journey from Philipsburg to eastern Montana.
In her early years, some of Cindy’s most favorite memories were times spent with her sisters on holidays and summer vacations with Aunt Lonnie and Uncle Otto. In her later years, she developed a deep and valued relationship/friendship with Lonnie. Lonnie passed on family history on her dad’s side, igniting a passion for her heritage, in Cindy. From then on, she was known as the historian, reciting stories and the smallest details of the family tree at every gathering.
Spending time with her cousins created many memories. To name a few, antics on the porch swing, fireworks on the 4th, family reunions, and a most memorable outing, Happy’s, followed by some skinny dipping.
At the age of 20, living out a love that goes beyond understanding, Cindy made the selfless decision to give her only child up for adoption.
After graduating from Kinman Business University in the mid-70s, she worked in administration for various medical practices in Spokane, WA. In 1989, she married Bart Campbell and they moved to Helena where she continued her career in administration for different Montana state government agencies. Bart and Cindy spent 13 happy years together before divorcing and going separate ways.
In March 1991, her act of love returned to her and became the greatest joy of her life. Reuniting with her 17-year-old daughter Lynn, Cindy experienced her high school graduation. Lynn then moved to Seattle for college with the help of both Cindy and her adopted mom Carol. The shared milestones that followed include Lynn’s wedding day, and the birth of Iain, Sorley, and Duncan, Cindy’s beloved grandsons.
She was the main caregiver to Iain as a baby and spent countless hours adventuring on walks in the stroller, visits to the Firetower, and imaginary trips driving in the car. Every visit with Grammy was like getting to experience the best amusement park in the world. She adored her grandsons, covering her walls and every surface with their photos, art and random creations, attending every soccer and basketball game, concert, mountain bike race, art exhibit, school performance that she could. She had 3 suns in her world, and they were her grandsons, using every ounce of love and talent that she had to cook, garden, sew, hike, ride bikes, and try anything with them. “No” was an almost impossible response for Grammy. Highlights included being the genius and talent behind the MacPac win as Minions in the Halloween Carnival; a road trip adventure with Iain to Chico Hot Springs; exploring the Hiawatha Trail on bikes; helping Sorley craft together the most awesome Hubie Halloween costume; and countless sleepovers with Duncan where he was free from being the littlest brother. There will be less light in their worlds now without her, but her love will always remain.
In December 2021 after ceaselessly showing up to support her team in the Office of Legal Affairs at DPHHS throughout COVID, Cindy was given a lovely retirement party by her closest colleagues who had also become like family.
Hobbies and interests were taken to the next level with Cindy. Her green thumb could bring a garden to such vibrance that passersby would want a photo or ask for her protip. She was on a first name basis with the crew at Chadwick’s and was giddy when the new seed catalogue arrived in the mail. There are Vikings fans, and then there are fans that get kicked out of a certain dining establishment for being a bit overly zealous as the underdog fighting for screen time! Cindy was thrilled to her toes to be headed to Minneapolis to see the Vikings game this Christmas. It was to be her trip of a lifetime. She was always looking for that next challenge as a puzzler, spending hours putting tiny pieces together to make a whole. This pastime was even more fulfilling when she shared it with her sister or grandsons over the most perfectly crafted latte from her hands.
Drawing connection out of everyone she met, Cindy rarely recognized this as a skill she possessed. She could walk up to any stranger and have a connection after 5 minutes, which often built into relationships across the daily pathways of her life- in her neighborhood, at the Real Food Store, Sole Sisters, the Blackfoot, the Park Avenue Bakery, Ace Hardware, many offices throughout state government.
She was the first to stop and help, and the last to want to leave. Cindy devoted much of her time to visits with family, showing up with the perfect gift, a big smile, and an enthusiasm for the task at hand. This took her all the way to the Arctic, where she was the top volunteer for the Kobuk 440 Sled Dog Race. Her loving nature doted over those closest including the special relationships she had with her nephews and nieces.
Cindy was preceded in death by her parents Leonard and Beth Amundson, her beloved Aunt Lonnie Stark, and her brother-in-law John Minnix.
Cindy is survived by her daughter Lynn (Angus) Maciver and grandsons Iain, Sorley and Duncan of Helena; her sisters Marian (Jim) Stonehocker of Trout Creek, Sherry Amundson of Seattle, WA, and Valerie Amundson of Nome, AK; her cousin-like-a-sister Laneda (Craig) Carpenter of Whitehall; her long-time friend Cindy Forgey of Clancy; nieces and nephews Tonya Osterman (Craig), Simon (Sadie) Stonehocker, Brianna (Walt) Snyder, Micah (Samantha) Stonehocker, Jamel (Cheyenne) Minnix, Tom, Ben (Darcy), Hannah, Sam (Jazmine), and Judah Atkinson; many beloved great nieces and nephews whom she loved as her own; and her adopted family Gary and Carol Jimmerson.
Cindy so appreciated flowers, but longer lasting charitable gifts in her memory can be sent to LOSS Team of Lewis and Clark Area by contacting jhegstrom@lccountymt.gov . These volunteers brought light to our family in its darkest hours. Now that Cindy is free, we know she would want to let the light shine in our community to bring courage to those suffering.
A Celebration of Cindy’s Life is scheduled for 2:00 p.m., Friday, Dec. 16, 2022 at Anderson Stevenson Wilke Funeral Home, 3750 N Montana Ave., with coffee and cookies to follow the service at the funeral home. Please visit www.aswfuneralhome.com to offer a condolence to the family or to share a memory of Cindy.
