Amanda Christine Mckissen

Amanda Christine McKissen (Miller) was born June 18, 1985 to Howard and Cheri Miller in Jerome, Idaho. She passed away at St. Luke’s Boise on Wednesday, March 31, 2021 while surrounded by her family.

Amanda, known as Mandie to most, grew up in Dietrich, Idaho as the third of four daughters. She attended Dietrich elementary and junior high schools and graduated from Magic Valley High School in Twin Falls, in 2003. It was at MVHS that Mandie met her two very best friends: Katie and Sumi, who were by her side ever since. Mandie loved them deeply. She obtained an Associates of Arts in Liberal Studies from the College of Southern Idaho, where she was a frequent performer in theatre productions. Mandie held many jobs throughout her life, all of which she appreciated and excelled at, but loved most her work as a Mother.

Mandie treasured being a Mom above all else. She had five children: Seth Stanley (20), Samuel Sorensen(deceased), Aiden McKissen-Clark (15), Brinlee McKissen-Clark (14) and Heston McKissen (9). She was a dedicated parent and a natural nurturer. She loved taking care of and helping others. She was naturally drawn towards babies especially and they loved her equally. Her kids were her absolute joy.

She also deeply cherished the marriage that she had to the love of her life, Shane McKissen. Shane was Mandie’s literal knight in shining armor. The life they made together was beautiful and messy in all the ways that life is and should be. It was complex, with periods of heartbreak and grief. Through every trial and tribulation, however, Mandie would rise up with renewed strength and empathy that is not often found in this world. She was altruistic to her core. She held people to a higher standard of compassion, equality and kindness. She expected people and herself to be good for no other reason than because it was the right thing to do. She was not driven by religious tenets, but by the moral and ethical facets of human life and she taught her children to live and love in that same fashion.

She was an absolute gift and treasure in the lives of her family and friends. She loved hard and you were intensely blessed to be loved by her.

Mandie was preceded in death by her parents Howard and Cheri Miller and her son, Samuel “Strat” Sorensen. She is survived by her husband, Shane Mckissen, her children, Seth Stanley (Dave and Maryann Stanley), Aiden McKissen-Clark, Brinlee McKissen-Clark and Heston McKissen, her former spouse, Samuel Sorensen (birth father to Seth Stanley and Strat Sorensen), her three sisters, Jennifer Miller (Kevin Taylor), Tabitha Miller (Richard Zuercher), Nicole Slade (Tyler Slade), her brother Billy Perry and many aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews. The family would like to thank the team at St. Luke’s downtown Boise for their dedicated efforts and kindness in Mandie’s final moments.

A viewing will be held Friday, April 9 from 5-8 pm at Alden-Waggoner Funeral Chapel in Boise, and a Celebration of Life will be held Saturday, April 10 from 2-4 pm at the Agricultural Pavilion in Julia Davis Park.