Henry Lawrence Candelaria

Henry Lawrence Candelaria, age 54, passed away on July 22, 2023 leaving behind his daughter Angelica Wunsch with her husband Mark and their children, Thomas and Theodore, son Hayden Candelaria and family, his mother Lydia Candelaria, his Sister Veronica Lopez with her partner Michael, and their children, Brianna, Andrew, Evan, and Alec, his cousins Jeanette and Daniel and many aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. 

Henry was born to Henry and Lydia Candelaria in Hawthorne, California on March 29th, 1969. Not long after his birth the family moved to Albuquerque, NM, where he grew up. He was an only child until he was 11 years old when he was joined by his sister, Veronica. 

As a young man he loved to ride his bike all over Albuquerque with his friends and take his little sister to the arcade. He did BMX racing, boxing, and played quarterback for Highland High School.

He completed his GED and spent his career as a retail manager. He was passionate about empowering and enabling his employees. Everybody that worked for him spoke highly of him and his management style. 

He met his future wife, Babette, in middle school and later married and had his first child, Angelica, with her. 

He moved to Arkansas where he met his second wife, Debbie and had a son, Hayden. He moved back to Albuquerque in 2001.

Henry showered his friends and family with praise and compliments regularly. He had a strong moral compass, would always speak his truth and do what he felt was right. He loved to play golf and would often go with his son-in-law Mark. He made frequent trips to Amarillo, Texas to visit his best friend Paul and his family, who were like a second family to him. When he wasn’t traveling, he loved spending time with his cousin Daniel, who became like a son to him. 

He loved being a grandfather. At family gatherings he would spend most of his time chasing his grandkids around.

He travelled to Sandpoint, Idaho to visit his daughter’s family and fell in love with the trees, lakes, and small town lifestyle. He was planning on moving up to Sandpoint this year. 

A service will be held on August 9th at 11am at Strong-Thorne Mortuary, 1100 Coal Ave, Albuquerque, NM 87106.