Amy was raised by her parents Gary and Carol Zimmerman with her two younger sisters, Kate and Ann, in Seekonk, MA.  She graduated from Seekonk High School in 1995 and chose to attend Quinnipiac College to pursue a degree in Occupational Therapy. While in college, she met her husband Mike and they both graduated in 1999.  Mike and Amy were married in 2002 and bought their first home in East Providence, RI.  Amy worked for Woonsocket, Cranston and East Providence School Departments during her career as an Occupational Therapist.

 

In 2005 at age of 28, Amy was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and underwent chemo and radiation. In 2008, after two years of clear scans the doctors felt that Amy and Mike could now be comfortable having children.  Not knowing if having children would be possible, they started the process of adopting their first child, Maria. She was a former student of Amy’s in Woonsocket and was five years old at the time. As fate would have it, Amy became pregnant at the same time. Maria moved in August of 2008 and Paige was born on New Year’s Eve of the same year.  Amy instantly had the family she always wanted.

 

After living in East Providence for ten years, Amy and Mike built a home and moved to Seekonk in 2010. In 2011, Amy was diagnosed with breast cancer. She chose to have a double mastectomy which was followed by chemo and radiation.  During a routine hysterectomy a few months later, the doctors found that the cancer was now stage 4 and had spread to her liver.  Amy chose to be treated at Dana Farber where she had been treated for Hodgkin’s Disease. Over the next two years she would try many different chemotherapies and clinical trials.  

 

In the last year, the cancer spread to her spine, bone, and lung. During the summer of 2014, she suffered a seizure while sitting at home with her husband.  The cancer had spread to her brain.  She underwent full brain radiation which was effective to prevent further seizures, however, the cancer in her liver continued to spread.  Amy passed away peacefully at the Philip Hulitar Hospice Center in Providence.

 

Amy was a loving wife, mother, sister, aunt, and friend who lived her life helping and inspiring others without ever expecting anything back in return.  She may have been small in stature, but she had a huge reach. During her battle she always put on a brave face and never complained.  She continued to be the mother she always wanted to be, and her daughters kept her going.  She had an amazing strength and will to live.  

​

Amy lost her almost decade long battle with cancer on January 15, 2015.