Candace was born on September 12, 1951, to Jessie McAuslin Boyajian and John Boyajian in Oceanside, New York. After Candace graduated from Princeton Day School in 1969, she went on to study European History at Vassar College, graduating in 1973.
Upon completion of college, Candace began her decades-long reinsurance career in New York City.
Candace met Robert "Bob" DeSantes in the elevator of their Tuckahoe, NY co-op where they both lived. The two were married in 1987, and after two years in California, settled in Westport, CT before moving to Greensboro, NC in 2006. Candace and Bob have two daughters, Jessica and Candace “Robbie”.
In 2014, Candace retired as Senior Vice President with Willis Re and spent her time volunteering, enjoying friends, antiquing, reading, and shopping with her daughters.
Candace was predeceased by her parents, Jessie and John Boyajian. She is survived by her husband Bob, daughters, Jessica (Theodore “Ted” Pandaleon) and Robbie, sister Lorna (David Goodrich), nephew Andrew, niece Cecily and her family, many cousins and friends, and her beloved cat, Gordon.
A service to celebrate Candace’s life will be held at St. Pius X Catholic Church on December 17 at 11am. A visitation and reception will follow the service in the Simmons Center of the church. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in her memory to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, an organization Candace cared deeply about.
