Amparo Candela Obituary

Amparo Candela CHARLESTON - Amparo Candela (Amparo Gimeno Garate) May 10, 1933-April 5, 2023 Amparo Candela, beloved spouse, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister and aunt went to her heavenly home on April 5, 2023, ending a long life devoted to caring for others and lived with resilience, sass, and humor. She is survived by her spouse, Manuel Candela; her daughters, Cristina Amparo Hullett, Ana Maria Candela and Maria Isabel Candela; by her seven grandchildren, Ryan, Adam, Jeremy, Tabitha, Amy, Kenneth and Michael; by her seven great-grandchildren, Leland, Aiden, Colton, Thomas, Taylor, Alex, and Brady; by her four siblings, Margarita, Mari Carmen, Virginia and Fernando Gimeno Garate; and by fifteen nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, Victoria Garate Sainz and José Gimeno Perales; her daughter, Carolyn Willis; and her siblings, José Luis and Kino Gimeno Garate. Born on May 10, 1933, in the town of Orihuela in the province of Alicante, Spain, to Victoria Garate Sainz and José Gimeno Perales, Amparo grew up spending much time at her paternal grandparent's home and family bakery, where she and her siblings were doted upon by their five aunts and going to the beach in Torrevieja. At the age of sixteen, after Amparo's father passed away, the family moved to Madrid to find work. Enamored with the world of fashion and harboring hopes of studying fashion design, Amparo found work as a model for the designer Cristóbal Balenciaga, then took up work in the clothing retail sector and as a seamstress. She had fond memories of the innocent sweetness of life in early 1950s Madrid, of going out with large groups of friends, and of listening to music and going dancing. In 1956, Amparo married Charles Dunn, an American stationed at Torrejon Air Force Base in Madrid, and moved with him to West Palm Beach, Florida, then to Jessup, Maryland, where Amparo became an active homemaker. While she raised their two daughters, Cristina and Carolyn, Amparo also earned her GED, worked as a substitute teacher, volunteered, and participated in the local PTA. After thirteen years of marriage, Amparo and Charles divorced and she returned with her daughters to Alicante, Spain. While the girls attended school, Amparo worked for a local leather shop and for the New York-based American Shoe Company, traveling and sourcing shoes throughout Europe. In 1976, as her daughters were on the verge of completing high school, Amparo moved the family to Miami, where she worked for Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue. A year later, the family resettled in Maryland where Cristina and Carolyn eventually married and established families of their own while Amparo continued to work in retail. In 1979, Amparo returned to Spain and married Manuel Candela, a former friend and recent widower. The couple moved to Charleston, South Carolina, in 1980, where Manuel became a shrimper and Amparo devoted herself to raising her two new daughters, Ana Maria and Maria Isabel, and to babysitting children in the neighborhood. Once the girls were in middle school, Amparo began working at Abundant Life Church's daycare, where she cared for the babies and toddlers and eventually became Daycare Director. After many years of service to the church, Amparo went on to work as a court translator, a plant nursery worker, cleaning homes on Kiawah Island, and as a restaurant hostess. She also spent much time with her grandchildren, Adam, Jeremy, and Tabitha, who relocated to the Charleston area along with their mother, Cristina, in the mid-1990s. Despite these blessings, Amparo and her family also suffered the tragic loss of her much beloved daughter, Carolyn. In her final years, Amparo was doted upon by her daughter, Cristina, and granddaughter, Tabitha, with whom she loved to go out for lunch and shopping. Over the course of her long and healthful life, Amparo enjoyed going to the beach, laying in the sun, dressing in stylish and bright-colored clothing, eating French fries and dark chocolate, and drinking Diet Coke. She adored small children, orange tabby cats, small dogs, shopping and eating out. She was a mean cook and a talented knitter and sewer. She met life's ups and downs with tremendous humor and never complained of working or of caring for others. She never met a person she did not like and always showed the people in her life with tremendous generosity. And she remained, throughout the course of her life, a woman of tremendous faith. We know that God is pleased to have one of His kind and generous angels back in his arms, where she belongs, but she will be sorely missed by those of us who love her here on earth. A memorial service will be held in honor of her life at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 22, 2023, at the International Church of God at 1560 Ashley River Road, Charleston, SC 29407. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made in her name to the International Church of God. Visit our guestbook at legacy.com/obituaries/charleston