Amanda Sue Ruiz
November 29th, 1978 - June 6th, 2025
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Amanda's Obituary
Amanda Sue (Milliken) Ruiz passed away from natural causes on June 6, 2025. Amanda was born in South Bend, Indiana on November 29, 1978, to her parents, Ricky Milliken and Patricia (Keller) Barber. She married Jason Jenaro Ruiz on April 20, 2007, and he will miss her greatly. Amanda was a dedicated and loving mother of three children, Sonya Lynn Burkett (Benjamin), Jason Jenaro Ruiz Jr, and Ricky Jay Ruiz. Amanda was a wonderful grandmother to her three granddaughters Skylynn Kay, Jasmine Rain, and LilyAnn Dream. She is survived by her mother Patricia (Keller) Barber and step father Scott; her father Ricky Milliken and step-mother Roberta Milliken; and her mother-in-law Lori Ruiz. She is preceded in death by her father-in-law, Bosco Ruiz. She leaves behind her siblings who will miss her dearly. They are Angela Milliken, Paula Waddell (Petie), Patricia Spagnola, Alexandra Milliken (Tyler) and Christopher Milliken (Margaret). She also leaves behind her sister-in-law Amy Ramos (Jose). In addition to her siblings, she leaves behind many nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews.
Amanda grew up in South Bend, attended Adams High School and later studied accounting practices at Kalamazoo Community College. She lived most of the rest of her life in Niles, Michigan. She worked at Notre Dame as a housekeeper for several years, and as a manager for two gas stations. She last worked at a casino where she managed the cage associates; a job that she really enjoyed and where she was well liked by everyone. She bravely fought through some challenging health problems over the last five years of her life.
Family was most important to Amanda. She was known by her grandchildren as Grandma and would spoil them every chance she got. She was the fun-loving aunt fondly known as Aunt Manny by her many nieces and nephews. Amanda loved to swim and really enjoyed spending time playing in the pool with her grandchildren. She loved going jet skiing, riding horses, camping and being outdoors. She absolutely loved her many dogs, especially Chewy, over the years (and tolerated her cats). She enjoyed going to Disney World with her husband, mom, kids and grandkids, and was remembered to say that Disney World made her feel like a kid again. In the last five years she enjoyed most spending time at the campground during the summer months with her family and friends, having barbecues, fishing, riding on the golf carts, and sitting around the bonfire making s’mores. She always enjoyed Thanksgiving, Christmas and other family gatherings at her dad’s house, making sure that she got to hold all the babies over the many years. Amanda will be dearly missed by all of her family.
A celebration of life is still being planned and will be posted at a later date.
Amanda grew up in South Bend, attended Adams High School and later studied accounting practices at Kalamazoo Community College. She lived most of the rest of her life in Niles, Michigan. She worked at Notre Dame as a housekeeper for several years, and as a manager for two gas stations. She last worked at a casino where she managed the cage associates; a job that she really enjoyed and where she was well liked by everyone. She bravely fought through some challenging health problems over the last five years of her life.
Family was most important to Amanda. She was known by her grandchildren as Grandma and would spoil them every chance she got. She was the fun-loving aunt fondly known as Aunt Manny by her many nieces and nephews. Amanda loved to swim and really enjoyed spending time playing in the pool with her grandchildren. She loved going jet skiing, riding horses, camping and being outdoors. She absolutely loved her many dogs, especially Chewy, over the years (and tolerated her cats). She enjoyed going to Disney World with her husband, mom, kids and grandkids, and was remembered to say that Disney World made her feel like a kid again. In the last five years she enjoyed most spending time at the campground during the summer months with her family and friends, having barbecues, fishing, riding on the golf carts, and sitting around the bonfire making s’mores. She always enjoyed Thanksgiving, Christmas and other family gatherings at her dad’s house, making sure that she got to hold all the babies over the many years. Amanda will be dearly missed by all of her family.
A celebration of life is still being planned and will be posted at a later date.
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