Amanda Clay “Mandy” Merritt Golding was called home to Jesus after a 31-month battle with cancer, which she fought like a warrior. She is now reunited with those who went before her, including her father Gary Lynn Merritt. Mandy entered this world on June 29, 1971, in Tupelo, MS. She graduated Tupelo High School in 1989 and attended ICC for 2 years, with the original intent of becoming a marine biologist. Mandy left ICC after 2 years to find herself, and she found herself in the family business of Tupelo Fire Equipment for the next 18 years until 2012. She helped start Goldy’s Fire Apparatus with her husband Steve in 2013 and was instrumental in its growth to a successful business. Mandy and her husband Steve were members of Belden Baptist Church. A strong Christian who loved witness opportunities, Mandy’s love of the Lord and willingness to share her testimony kept her regularly engaged in Christian outreach, whether it was face-to-face or on social media. Mandy loved gardening, cleaning and organizing, taking care of her furbabies, fish, and family, and she maintained a long-term love-hate relationship with cooking. Mandy possessed an inherent ability to decorate. Many a home was enhanced by her eye for design, color, and feng sui. In her early youth, she was an ardent water skier, beginning at age 5. Her fascination with the water transitioned later to scuba diving and almost any other water sport. Her true love of animals developed into a passion for training and rehabilitating abandoned or neglected dogs.
A celebration of life service will be held at 2 PM on Saturday, June 29, 2024 in the Sadie M. Holland Memorial Chapel at Holland Funeral Directors in Tupelo with Bro. Jim Holcomb officiating. Visitation will be from 12 PM to service time Saturday only at the funeral home. Burial will be private. For those unable to attend, the service will be livestreamed at 2 PM at hollandfuneraldirectors.com/live-streaming where it will be archived. Holland Funeral Directors is honored to serve their friends.
Mandy leaves behind the love of her life, Stephen Clay “Steve” Golding. The pair were married on November 27, 1993, embarking on a beautiful adventure that lasted 30 joyful years until Mandy’s final breath. Also remaining here are her loving mother, Barbara Lynn Watts Merritt, her adoring mother-in-law, Margie Mattox Golding, her beloved Godparents Terry and Dee Brandon, aunt Shelia Estess and husband Charles, aunt Rhonda Romito and husband Matt, uncle Roger Lanphere, numerous cousins, and a multitude of friends including special friends Cindy Hale (Matthew), Priscilla Collins (Grant), and lifelong friend C. Lance Norman. Preceding her in death were her father Gary Lynn Merritt, “Pappaw & Mammaw” E.T. and Marie Merritt, grandfather Roy and “Granny” Mavis Watts, aunts Pat Thompson and husband Paul, aunt Peggy Lanphere, innumerable friends worldwide and a menagerie of cherished spoiled-rotten pets. Mandy truly mattered and her too-short life was very well-lived. Mandy will be remembered for her sarcastic quick wit, brutal honesty when asked her opinion, and her never-ceasing devotion to those she loved.
Memorials in Mandy’s memory may be made to Sanctuary Hospice House, P.O. Box 2177, Tupelo, MS 38802, the Tupelo-Lee Humane Society, P.O. Box 2143, Tupelo, MS 38803, or your local dog rescue organization.
