Amanda Erin Straight

Amanda Straight, 55, of Columbus, Ohio, passed away on October 5, 2026, at 7:52 a.m., leaving behind a family who loved her beyond what words could ever adequately express.

Amanda was so much more than the dates that marked the beginning and end of her life. She was a wife, a mother, a Mimi, a friend, a safe place, and the kind of woman whose love could be felt simply by being near her.

She shared her life with her husband, Vance Straight, and together they built a family that became Amanda’s greatest joy and proudest accomplishment.

She was a devoted mother to Kayla (Bobby), Tori (Dustin), and Danielah (Glenn). She loved her mother-in-law Doris deeply.But perhaps the title that fit Amanda’s heart most perfectly was “Mimi.”

Her grandchildren—Ryleigh, Hensley, Ceci, Rylee, Hayleigh, McKenna, and Bobby—were not simply a part of Amanda’s world. They were her world.

While Amanda held different jobs throughout her life, her soul was happiest at home, being Mimi. There was no position, accomplishment, or title that could have meant more to her than being present for the children she adored. She poured herself into her grandchildren with the kind of love that asks for nothing in return. She nurtured them, spoiled them, laughed with them, cared for them, and made sure they always knew that Mimi was there.

Amanda was naturally nurturing and endlessly giving. She loved deeply and wholeheartedly. She could make people laugh, bring comfort when it was needed most, and somehow make the people she loved feel taken care of. Her heart was soft, generous, and completely devoted to her family.

She loved shopping—something those closest to her will undoubtedly smile about for years to come—and she had a special love for hummingbirds, whose tiny wings and beautiful presence will now carry an entirely different meaning for the family she leaves behind.

Amanda was preceded in death by her father, Donald Juniper; her mother, Gina Aftanas; her siblings, Gina, Theresa, Steven, and Robert;and her lifelong friend, Matt. There is comfort in imagining that after leaving this life, she was welcomed by the people she had loved and missed for so long.

For those left behind, however, Amanda’s absence will be impossible to measure.

It will be felt in ordinary moments—the instinct to call her, a story someone cannot wait to tell Mimi, a shopping trip she would have loved, a family gathering where her place should still be filled, or the sudden sight of a hummingbird hovering nearby.

But Amanda’s story does not end on October 5.

It continues through her husband, her daughters, her grandchildren, and every person fortunate enough to have been loved by her. It lives in the lessons she taught without realizing she was teaching them, in the memories her family will tell over and over again, in the laughter that will eventually find its way through the tears, and most of all, in her grandchildren who will forever carry pieces of their Mimi with them.

Amanda spent her life loving her family. And in the end, that may be the most beautiful legacy a person can leave behind.

Though 55 years could never have been enough, the love Amanda gave during those years was enough to last generations.

Until we see you again, Mimi. Whenever a hummingbird appears, we’ll think of you—and we’ll know that a love as great as yours never truly leaves us.