Ruben Candia

Dr. Ruben Candia, Ph.D., beloved professor, colleague and friend, passed away on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025, at the age of 87 at UT Health Hospital.
Dr. Candia dedicated more than three decades to St. Mary's University, serving as head of the ROTC department (1977–82) before transitioning to the Department of Languages, where he taught Spanish and Spanish literature. Dr. Candia was a Fulbright scholar at the University of Barcelona in 2006. He concluded his distinguished academic career as Chair of the Foreign Language Department, remembered by generations of students for his passionate teaching and mentorship.
Dr. Candia attained four college degrees: a bachelor's in political science from the University of Nebraska, a master's in public administration from the University of Oklahoma, a master's in Spanish language and literature from Middlebury College Graduate School of Spanish in Madrid, and a Ph.D. in Romance Languages from the University of New Mexico.
Prior to his academic career, Dr. Candia served 28 years in the U.S. Army, retiring with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was among the founding members of the Green Berets where he was involved in operations and assignments in Cuba, Columbia, the Dominican Republic, and Panama, and he completed a combat tour in South Vietnam with the 101st Airborne/Air Assault Division as an artillery major in 1967-68 where he was awarded the Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster.
Dr. Candia also had assignments in Germany and Korea and served three years as a Spanish professor on the faculty at West Point following his promotion to lieutenant colonel. His legacy as a soldier reflects a lifetime of service, leadership and dedication.
Dr. Candia was born in Clint, Texas in 1938 and his family moved to El Paso in 1948. He was the salutatorian and class president, Class of 1954, at Jefferson High School in El Paso and left home to enlist in the US Army one year after graduation.
He is proceeded in death by his wife Herlinda, his parents Longino and Victoria, his brothers Longino, Jr., Luis, Pablo, Roberto, and Ramon and is survived by his brothers Jose Longino and Armando and sisters Rosa, Maria and Celia, sons John and Bruce, daughter Ruth, granddaughter Renee, grandson Sean, great granddaughters Camden and Makenna, and numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews.
Family genealogy was his passion for the last 25 years of his life as he traced the first Candia's arrival in the New World back to the early 1500s. His research also discovered other family branches from his mother and father going back to Spain, Italy, and Croatia.
Dr. Candia will be remembered for his unwavering commitment to education, his distinguished military service, and the love and devotion he shared with his family as a husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, Godfather, friend, and mentor.
His life will be celebrated on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025, at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church, 13715 Riggs Rd., Helotes, Texas 78023.
9:30–10:30 a.m. – Viewing
10:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m. – Mass
1:00–2:00 p.m. – Burial and Memorial Service at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery
The family requests a donation to your local Meals on Wheels program in lieu of flowers