Amy Rutherford Whitlock's Obituary
Amy Rutherford Whitlock, 51, of Tampa, FL, passed away on October 29, 2022 after a brief battle with cancer. She passed peacefully in her sleep, free of pain and surrounded by love.
Anyone who knew Amy would come up with the same list of words to describe her: optimistic, creative, and selfless. What a legacy to leave behind that everyone whose life you touched should choose those same three words.
Despite being faced with a variety of struggles in her life, Amy was a paragon of optimism. Even when things were hard, she always believed they would get better. Everyone knew this about her, and so when people needed a pep talk, she was high on the list of people to call. She wouldn’t hesitate to stay on the phone with a friend in need for hours if necessary. She loved her friends deeply, and unconditionally. No matter how long she’d known you, you always knew that she’d do whatever was in her power to support you and put a smile on your face.
And of course, this love always extended to her family, whether it was traveling to Norway with her father, caring for her mother as her health declined, or unconditionally loving and supporting her brother Matt.
She was also known for her love of animals, which led to her dream of being a dog trainer. While she had still been working to make that dream a reality, she had offered to help friends with their pets, just because it brought her joy to do so.
She was a born artist, and it took only a matter of seconds to realize it once you met her. Whether it was her sculpting, her singing and dancing, or her acting, it didn’t take long for her creative stripes to show through. She attended Gibbs High School’s Artistically Talented Program, and her flair for character showed up on stage in Oliver!, or with friends at midnight showings of Rocky Horror Picture Show, or LARPing at Ren Faire, or playing a homicidal Momma at Busch Gardens’ Howl-o-Scream. Every character got her best effort, which was pretty darn spectacular. Every. Time.
Perhaps the most important role she ever played, though, was the role of mother to her two boys. She didn’t always get to be with them physically, but she loved and thought of Charles and Nick every moment of every day and loved them fiercely with every fiber of her being. There was nothing in the world that made her prouder or happier than her sons.
Amy is survived by her sons Charles Alexander Whitlock and Nicholas Andrew Whitlock, of Tampa, her brother Matthew (Mark) Rutherford of Chicago, IL, her sister Hannah Rutherford of St. Petersburg, FL, and her birth mother Cindi. She was preceded in death by her loving parents, Lemoine John and Judith Martin Rutherford.
A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, December 10, 2022, from 10 am to 12 pm at Sunset Funeral Home and Memory Gardens, 11005 N US Highway 301 in Thonotosassa. All are invited and encouraged to bring stories and memories of Amy to share. Committal service to immediately follow.
What’s your fondest memory of Amy?
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Share a story where Amy's kindness touched your heart.
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