Westhampton Beach Class of '77!

Amy Mercer

 



I met Amy in 9th grade when she became the manager of the women's gymnastics team. Amy always had a smile on her face, even when things didn't quite go her way. Amy and I became best pals and she and I were pretty much inseparable (my sister Mindy was good friends with Dru Mercer so the 4 four of us were tight). Amy always had a sadness inside but she never let on. She loved to party and laugh.

We would go out sailing in her sunfish, six pack and subs from Six Corners Deli in hand, and laugh the afternoon away. Her little yellow Honda Civic became famous throughout the town and we spent many a sunny afternoon buzzing around town looking for some action.
Amy moved to Colorado pretty soon after she graduated from college and worked at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs. She lived in a trailer near town and had a happy, if slightly lonely, life. I visited her many times and we always had fun together. After I settled down and married, Amy moved to Arizona to be near her mother, whose health was failing. I remember I was just pregnant with my youngest son, back in 1994 and I was going on a business trip to Las Vegas. I called Amy to say I would be out west and would love to take a day or two and come and visit. She hedged on that and would not say why. Quintessential Amy, she was sick with cancer and never said a word to me.
The next time I spoke with her I was calling to tell her of the birth of my son, Jack. I could not reach her and she never called me back. I knew something was wrong so I contacted her sister Hadley who told me that Amy had died that spring.
She died the way she lived her life, under the radar screen, not wanting to call attention to herself and, I am certain, with a smile on her face as she knew in her heart that she lived a good and happy life.

Kathy deCaracena Bliss