Candy Kuykendall

Candy was born in Carlsbad, New Mexico. Her parents moved to Alamogordo for a while where Candy was saved and baptized. The family moved back to Carlsbad a few years later. She grew up in Carlsbad and was a candy striper at the hospital before she graduated from Carlsbad High. She never met a stranger. She married her high school sweetheart right after high school in 1969 and moved to Washington state. After a while in Washington, they moved to Amarillo where they had their first child, they then moved to Houston where they had three more children. They moved back to Amarillo in 1978. The marriage ended in 1980, and he moved back to Houston. She had several jobs including selling the first "Mac" computers in Amarillo. Sales suited her well, (remember she never met a stranger). Candy worked for a grain elevator for a while and AIG insurance company. She would use her computer programming skills at Transportation Brokers and later sold World Book encyclopedias for a while. Her last job before retirement was helping veterans get signed up for a benefit that most didn't know about.

She started the Amarillo part of her spiritual journey at the Central Church of Christ. Later she would move to Paramount Terrace Christian Church. She loved music and singing and was a member of the choir. Candy loved to dance and met Kirk at a country and western dance club. They married on February 19, 1989, later they would take square dance lessons and enjoyed dances through the years. She convinced Kirk to attend church with her, and he was saved within a year. She served the Lord by teaching bible studies to incarcerated women with Sharing Hope Ministries.

Candy stepped up when the hospital called her and asked if she would take Cassie (granddaughter) home and make her comfortable. They said she would live about two weeks. They later adopted Cassie and had her for 15 years and loved her and cared for her until she went home to the Lord in 2006.

Candy and Kirk were members of the choir at PTCC, where they were married, and later at Washington Ave. Christian Church. They were also members of the Amarillo Community Chorale. She received her BA from WTAMU in Canyon, Texas. Candy collected cookie jars, she would go to garage sales and flea markets to add to her unique collection. She also loved quilting for her family and friends.

Candy is preceded in death by her daughter, her father, her elder brother, her younger brother and her granddaughter. She is survived by Kirk, her husband of 37 years, six children, many grandchildren, her mother, a sister and brother-in-law, three sisters-in-law, and many nieces and nephews. We will all miss her greatly. Candy passed from life early in the morning of November 17, 2025.