Wanida Samanasen Amundson, 82, of McLean, Virginia, passed away at 8:45pm on January 19, 2023 with her husband Butch and son Eric by her side. Wanida, was born on September 11, 1940 to her parents Luang and Prakorb Wanagakitch in Maehongsorn, Thailand. She was the youngest of her 3 brothers, Pom, Kitcha, and Lek and her 3 sisters, Wasana, Vichitra and Wanasri. 

Wanida went on to graduate from Thailand's prestigious Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok where she chose the path to study in the field of education to become a teacher. She received a Fullbright scholarship to Georgetown University where she completed her Master's in applied linguistics and met and fell in love with Butch. They quickly got married due to the outbreak of war in Vietnam. Butch was sent there with Corps 13 paramilitary so Wanida travelled back to Bangkok so she could be nearby and they could visit one another. Eric was born soon after. This started their life of adventure when Butch worked for USAID and Wanida taught English wherever they went. 

They were posted to Tunisia, Yemen and Djibouti then returned to the U.S for a few years to settle into their first home in McLean, Virginia followed by two more postings to Cameroon then Morocco. They retired in Lake Tahoe California and eventually returned to their home in Virginia to be close to Eric and to take part in his wedding with Fay. Wanida's greatest passions were her family, friends, pets, cooking new foods, gardening and traveling to experience other cultures. She was very excited to become a Grandmother to Ethan and Clara and enjoyed seeing them every weekend when we would get together with Fay's parents.  She leaves a legacy of love and kindness to us, her grandkids and close family in Thailand.  She will be missed so dearly and will never be forgotten.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Wanida's name to the American Cancer Society: https://donate3.cancer.org/

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