Amber Dawn (Bippes) Planeta passed away peacefully in her home October 27, 2025, surrounded by family after a 3-year battle with breast cancer. Her legacy of love, connection, grit and adventure will be remembered by all who knew her.

Amber was born August 6, 1986, in Gallup, New Mexico to Floyd and Janet Bippes. She was and still is the light of their lives. She was a miracle before she was born. Janet was told by doctors there was no heartbeat at an early appointment. She went home, prayed and at the next appointment there was a heartbeat. Amber was a daddy’s girl. Her first word was “Dah.” Even as a baby Amber loved to engage and connect with people. As a young child sitting in the shopping cart at the grocery store she had to talk with every person who passed by. On Halloween when she was 2 years old, she burst into tears when the trick or treaters had to leave.

Amber was a master organizer, planner and performer. She was the lead part in the 2nd grade musical Lana Ladybug. At age 9 she organized a neighborhood circus and put on numerous magic shows and various other performances. Amber would recruit and organize all the neighborhood kids in these events. She was the President of “The Bush House Club,” in the Bippes front yard where they planned these events. As a teenager she planned several parties including her friend’s 16th birthday that started at a guest list of 5 and ended at 50! People loved Amber and wanted to participate in every event she organized. From an early age Amber created friendships that felt like family. She always included everyone and wanted to bring people together. People would meet Amber and instantly feel connected to her.

After growing up in Gallup she went to school at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque where she graduated with a degree in finance. In her last year of college, she needed to find a new place to live. Her friend from school had a brother who needed roommates at his house, and she thought, “I always wanted brothers,” so she agreed to move in never having met the other 2 guys. One of those ended up being her husband, Kenny Planeta. From the first day Amber and Kenny met they were best friends. Amber had a way of connecting with people immediately. It could be at school, at work, at the grocery store, on an airport shuttle, at cancer treatment, it didn’t matter, Amber found people and connected with them.

In 2010, Amber decided she and Kenny needed to get a dog, but the roommate who owned the house wouldn’t let her so Amber convinced Kenny they should buy a house together, “it was a good investment, and they could get a dog.” Amber had a clear picture of the house and area she wanted to live in. After finding the 60-year-old house with loads of work needed she quickly put together the 2-week action plan where she, Kenny and her dad would get it renovated. Of course, that aggressive timeline didn’t happen, but her vision for the home did come together. Amber was so talented at so many things. She could put together plans that aside from their unrealistic timelines were always executed. Every detail was just right and always done on a razor thin budget. She had that house designed like it came out of a magazine and did it with lots of sweat equity and a knack for finding just the right furniture and fixtures at TJ Maxx, Home Goods and Craig’s List.

Amber next began planning a destination wedding with Kenny, but of course they weren’t engaged yet and Amber wasn’t ready to get married. Kenny decided if she was going to plan the wedding, he had better propose to her. Amber and Kenny got engaged in May 2012 and got married August 2013 in Napa, CA. Amber planned & budgeted every detail of the wedding. It was a perfect event, and her one regret was not getting to spend more time at it as a guest instead of having to take time for pictures and other bride duties during the event.

Amber always wanted to have kids, specifically daughters, and in 2016 she was blessed with her first daughter Quinn. From the moment Amber met Quinn she was in love. Quinnie or Q Girl as Amber called her became the center of Amber’s world. Quinn was and still is the spitting image of Amber. Her dad Floyd still accidentally calls Quinn “Amber.”

After saying she would never move to Reno where Kenny’s side of the family lived, she changed her mind after seeing Quinn with her cousin Maddie interact at 3 months old. That began the next plan Amber put together and flawlessly executed which involved budgeting and saving for a new home in Reno. The home was a new build that Amber spent endless hours perfectly designing and of course using a spreadsheet to budget and organize all options.

In 2018 Amber moved her family (including her parents Floyd and Janet) to Reno, Nevada. She kept her job as a remote employee at Sandia National Labs where she worked for over 10 years. That was a tribute to the type of employee Amber was, no one was allowed to work remotely at that time and yet she was able to get that approved. Even after she stepped away from Sandia in 2023, she still receives letters from former co-workers to this day talking about how she impacted their careers.

After getting settled in Reno, Amber and Kenny had their 2nd daughter Rylie. Having 2 girls who could be each other’s lifelong friends was a dream of Amber’s after growing up an only child. From the time Rylie was born she was Amber’s shadow as Amber put it. Rylie would follow Amber around and want to do everything Amber did, from putting on make-up, to cooking or working on her computer. We also can’t forget all those early morning snuggles where Rylie would sneak into the bed with Amber and fall back asleep with her.

In 2022 Amber was diagnosed with breast cancer, which began her journey into learning everything there was to know about cancer and its treatments. Amber was determined to be around to raise her kids and be there for them as a grandma when they have kids of their own. Unfortunately, no matter how much she learned about the disease there was nothing that could hold it back. She fought tirelessly for 3 years and along the way made so many connections to others in the fight with cancer. It was amazing to watch how people were drawn to Amber and the way she connected with them. During it all she was always an amazing mother, wife, daughter, sister and friend to everyone in her life. Most people had no idea what she was going through. She even went back to school studying nutrition and was on the Dean’s list during her battle. She put her head down and pushed on living every last bit of her life on this earth.

Amber’s life story wouldn’t be complete without remembering her love for planning trips and adventures. She would spend hours researching hotels, restaurants and activities. Those who were fortunate enough to join her on these trips would remember there was always an itinerary that made the trip feel organized and time maximized. This never stopped even when she had babies or was going through cancer treatment. Her last trip was to Mexico where her liver began to fail and after refusing to go to the hospital the first few days of the trip she gave in, went to the hospital and promptly told her family, “Don’t ruin your vacation, go ahead without me and do the boat trip tomorrow.” Amber loved deeply and wanted the best for everyone.

Amber is survived by her husband, Kenny; their two daughters, Quinn and Rylie; her parents, Floyd and Janet; her parents (in-law) Joe and Denise and her sisters (in-law) Julie and Kelly and every person she touched in her life.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCFR), https://www.bcrf.org/ or the Amber Planeta Scholarship with Nevada Women's Fund, https://givebutter.com/XHvjlB…

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