Zachary Munn reflects on the life of Amy Munn (nee Crisp), Aquinian 2005 – 2006.
Amy moved to Aquinas College in 2005. She was from Loxton and had moved to Adelaide to undertake her studies, finishing with a Bachelor of Nursing from the University of South Australia. She was an active participant in all College activities and many sports, particularly hockey. She made an amazing group of friends who remained incredibly close all throughout her adult life.
Aquinas was also where Amy and I met, 21 years ago. We were both 18 at the time, basically just kids having a great time. Over the years we grew together and grew up together. Our wedding was the best day of my life (until the kids were born). And the most fun. I was dumbstruck then as I am now with how gorgeous she was, and how lucky I am. Amy was beautiful inside and out, she cared greatly for her friends and family, was passionate about her work, and loved to have fun. She had a radiant smile and brought a real zest to life. We were married in 2012, and our boys Ernest and Finley followed in 2014 and 2015, with Maggie being born in 2018.
Unfortunately Amy was diagnosed with brain cancer shortly before Maggie’s first birthday. She was given three years to live due to the cancer being considered a high-grade brain tumour. During this time I was constantly blown away by the strength and courage Amy showed. She tackled it head on, without fuss, and many a times even with a smile. After 18 months of treatment including brain surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, she successfully beat the cancer back and moved to a surveillance mode with 3 monthly MRI scans.
Despite all this Amy did not sit on the sidelines of life. She gave our kids (and me) incredible memories to hold on to, from our holidays, overseas trips, and hours of play and fun. We had four amazing years together during this period, enjoying the chance to live a ‘normal’ life with kindergarten, school days, junior sport, beach holidays and special trips. During this time Amy ran a half-marathon, went to Disneyland, got a promotion at work, coached a junior basketball team and went on a family Euro trip, all whilst being an incredible mum, wife and friend.
Unfortunately at the end of 2024 the cancer came back, with a poorer prognosis and more side effects. Amy eventually passed in April 2026 after two additional surgeries, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Despite it all Amy still did her best at work (when she could) and at home to make memories with the kids, even when her function was declining and with her increasing neurological challenges. The one thing she never lost was her beautiful smile or her love for family and friends. We miss her terribly. She leaves behind an enormous amount of people who loved her.
She enjoyed exercise and sport and keeping active. She was one of the drivers behind the establishment of the Walkerville Netball club, and played in the inaugural team – the very first Walkies Cat Netballer. The netball club is now one of the largest in Adelaide and has a team in the premier league. She enjoyed running and fun runs. In later years she would use fitness and running as a way to raise awareness and funds for brain cancer, where she raised tens of thousands of dollars by doing brain cancer walks, 50 squat a day challenges and running three kilometres a day for a month. She was an inspiration.
She worked at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital before moving to Red Cross Life Blood Donor Centre, where she worked for many years and where she finished in a leadership role. She was well liked by her colleagues and a passionate worker. She loved interacting with the volunteers coming to donate blood, forming good relationships with many of the regulars. One of her colleagues shared this reflection: ‘She was a great healthcare leader. To see how she has inspired everyone at work is unlike anything I’ve seen in my 18 years at Lifeblood. She definitely succeeded in my eyes. We couldn’t have asked for a more amazing person to help us save lives in SA.’
Amy was always such a big supporter of me, putting her career on hold to become the amazing mum that she was. She was born to be a mum and I was amazed at her strength caring for our kids and her love for them. I asked the kids to share some of their memories of mum.
Maggie’s favourite memories are when Amy would throw a birthday party for the teddy bears on a random day, complete with cakes and party games. Maggie also liked doing arts and crafts and make up and things, and found it funny that Amy would have to paint the skin of her little toe because her toe nail was so small.
Finley loved going to Mt Lofty Botanical gardens for our annual photo, going to the movies with mum, having picnics and playing in the park, and putting up the Christmas tree as a family, which Amy really loved. Both boys loved being able to go on a snow trip with mum by themselves and having a special time.
Ernie loved doing Lego together and baking with Amy, he also loved the botanical gardens visits, and it was special when he went for runs with mum and when they raised money for brain cancer together.
Maggie (aged 7) also wrote an acrostic poem for Amy. A is for amazing, because she was amazing. M is for Mum, because she was my Mum. Y is yes because she said yes to fun things.
I see so much of Amy in our three beautiful children. I see her in their tenderness and their love and care for others. I see her in their fierce loyalty and kinship with their friends. I see her in their love of new experiences and everyday joy found in the world.
I could talk forever about Amy. I consider myself so lucky to have met her all those years ago at Aquinas, and I am so grateful that she chose me to live her life with. She was our entire world and she made our world a better place. I miss her so much. I wish we had more time with her, but I am so grateful for the time we had.
