PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — A wave of grief has swept through Palm Beach Gardens and beyond following the unexpected death of Amanda Rachel Di Filippo, a 27-year-old University of Delaware graduate known simply as “the kindest soul you’d ever meet.”
Amanda passed away earlier this week, according to obituaries circulating among family and friends. While the family has requested privacy regarding the circumstances, the outpouring of love and shock from those who knew her has been overwhelming.
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Described repeatedly as a walking ray of sunshine, Amanda had an almost magical ability to make people feel truly seen. Friends say she was the first to show up with coffee and a hug during a tough week, the one who remembered your dog’s name and your mom’s birthday, and the person who could turn a regular Tuesday night into something memorable just by being herself.
“Amanda didn’t just have friends—she collected people,” one childhood friend wrote in a widely shared tribute. “She made everyone feel like they mattered because, to her, they genuinely did.”
A proud Blue Hen (University of Delaware Class of 2020), Amanda carried the same warmth and quiet strength into her professional life and her Florida community that she showed on campus in Newark. Colleagues describe her as dependable, thoughtful, and the coworker who always asked, “How are you doing?”—and actually listened to the answer.
In the days since her passing, social media has been flooded with stories of small, unforgettable acts of kindness: the time she drove an hour in traffic to sit with a friend going through a breakup, the care packages she sent “just because,” the way she celebrated others’ wins like they were her own.
Though her time here was far too short, those closest to her say Amanda lived with a fullness most people spend decades searching for. Her legacy, they insist, isn’t in grand gestures but in the hundreds of lives she gently lifted simply by being unapologetically kind.
The family has asked that, in lieu of flowers, people honor Amanda by performing one random act of kindness in her memory and telling someone they love them—two things she did every single day without fail.
Rest easy, Amanda. The world was brighter because you were in it. 💛