Candace Ann Spataro

1946 - 2024

Candace Ann Spataro

August 16, 1946 - August 20, 2024

N. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina - Our world grew a bit less colorful, many lumens darker, and measures more mournful as Candace Ann Royer Alessandroni Spataro, surrounded by her loving family, passed from this life to the next from her home in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on August 20, 2024. She had marked her 78th birthday just four days earlier.

Born in York, Pennsylvania, to Elwood Edward ("Bud") and Norma Jean Holtzapple Royer on August 16, 1946, Candace graduated from York Suburban High School, after which she became a paralegal and worked in real estate research until she retired at the age of 52.

Candace married Andrew Joseph Alessandroni, Jr., in York on September 10, 1965. The couple brought into the world three sons, Mark, Matthew, and Michael whom their father dubbed "the real 3M Corporation." Candace and Andrew divorced on January 7, 1974.

With her hallmark sense of timing and style, Candace married Andrew Anthony Giuseppe Spataro, Sr., in York on her 40th birthday, August 16, 1986. This second Andrew was the love of Candace's life for 31 years until his death parted them on November 22, 2017.

Not quite two years later, on July 26, 2019, Candace met Jimmy Wright on the dance floor at Deckerz in North Myrtle Beach. She later told her friends that Jimmy was "it", and they became practically inseparable. They purchased their stately home in North Myrtle Beach in 2021 and enjoyed a beautiful, fun-filled life there until Candace died. She professed her profound love and gratitude for Jimmy's constant care through her blessedly brief battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Frequently characterized as "one of a kind" and "life of the party", Candace exhibited her zest for life through traveling, golfing, entertaining, enjoying good times with friends and family at every opportunity, and walking. Candace walked five to seven miles a day, five to seven days a week for most of her retired life. She was known for her vibrant attire, jewelry, and visors, typically adorned with her signature butterflies, which she held as heavenly reminders from her beloved mother, Norma, and her paternal grandmother, Grace.

Undergirding the flashier more superficial labels, Candace wore the mantle of survivor. She successfully raised three boys through two turbulent marriages (uncited herein) and intermittent single motherhood. She overcame an encounter with quicksand on one of her golf-course strolls, proving that her childhood nightmare really does exist. She assumed with fortitude and resolve the role of caregiver to her beloved husband Andrew Spataro as his life drew to a close, just a few years before having her selfless gesture reciprocated.

Candace leaves behind surviving family members Jimmy Wright, her life partner and caregiver, of North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; her son Mark Andrew Alessandroni, his wife Melissa, and their sons, Andrew and Joseph of Lakeland, Florida; her son Matthew Joseph Alessandroni, Sr. and his wife, Gabriella of Reading, Pennsylvania; granddaughter Lindsay and great-grandson Logan Michael Sharpe of Womelsdorf, Pennsylvania; great-grandson August James Alessandroni of Denver, Pennsylvania; and her son Michael Christopher Alessandroni, his wife Kimberly, and their daughters Meryl, Aubrey, and Andrea of York, Pennsylvania.

Candace was preceded in death by her first husband, Andrew Joseph Alessandroni, Jr. (1997); her father, Elwood Edward Royer (2004); her mother, Norma Jean Royer Dormer (2009); her fourth husband, Andrew Anthony Giuseppe Spataro, Sr. (2017); and her grandson, Matthew Joseph Alessandroni, Jr. (2023).

If you wish to commemorate Candace Spataro with your financial generosity, please contribute to: The ALS Association, 1950 Craig Road, Suite 200, St. Louis, Missouri 63140, https://donate.sc.als.org/give/421479/#!/donation/checkout.

If you are able to celebrate Candace's legacy of light, laughter, and love in person, we welcome you to attend either (or both) of the following events: Saturday, October 26, 2024, from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., The Viking Athletic Association, 318 North Adams Street, York, Pennsylvania 17404 and Friday, November 15, 2024, at 3:00 p.m., Wright-Spataro Residence, 4809 Little River Neck Road, North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina 29582.