Memorial service for Albert T. Candy III will be 11:00 A.M. Saturday, April 29, 2023 at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church (1313 SW D Ave.) with The Rev. Stephanie Jenkins, Rector officiating.

Arrangements are under the direction of Becker-Rabon Funeral Home.

Al Candy was a person who was grateful for each new day. For 96 years, he savored his life as a son, brother, husband, father, grandpa, and great grandpa. He was a hard worker who was devoted to his job, and a craftsman who stayed busy with creative projects and hobbies. On April 18, 2023, he quietly left this world at his home in Lawton, surrounded by his family and beloved wife of 73 years, Lucille.

Al was a perfectionist who gave his best effort to everything he did. He was a passionate fisherman, a skilled woodworker, a vegetable gardener, and a good cook whose specialty was crepes. He was that rare man who could draft plans for a house, layout the electrical and plumbing, and then gather his tools and build the house. That's the story of how Al and Lucille created their first home in Kearney, Nebraska.

He was born in Oak Park, Illinois, on March 31, 1927, the first child of Albert Thomas Candy Jr. and Susan Marie Candy. His father was a successful businessman, and his mother was an interior designer. Al and his younger brother, Tom, spent a lot of their childhood with their maternal grandparents, Nona and Pops. As kids during the Great Depression, the boys learned how to stretch a dollar and be self-sufficient. Some of Al's best childhood memories were summer vacations the family spent at their cabin at Lake Ripley, Wisconsin.

In 1946, Al moved to Kearney, Nebraska, to live closer to his mother and stepfather, Burton Bancroft, and stepbrothers, Burt and John Bancroft. It was in Kearney that he met the most important person in his life, a beautiful young lady named Lucille Wiegand, and invited her to go ice skating with him. It wasn't long before they fell in love, eloped, and were married by a justice of the peace in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on January 12, 1950.

Al operated his own cabinet making business in Kearney for several years, and then accepted a position with Sears, the largest retailer in the world at that time. He worked directly with customers to design and install custom kitchen cabinets.

Al and Lucille had five children: Albert Thomas IV, Jeannine Marie, David Richard, Annice Lea and Linda Kathleen. In 1965, the family moved from Kearney to Lawton, Oklahoma, where he continued his career with Sears. They enjoyed swimming and fishing in the Wichita Mountains and going on camping trips in Oklahoma and Nebraska.

They attended St. Andrews Episcopal Church, and Al and Lucille donated hundreds of hours to church projects from 1967-2015. They even helped remodel the parish kitchen, which was named "Candy's Corner" in honor of their many years of service.

Al enjoyed singing in a barbershop quartet for several years. After retirement, he and Lucille ventured out for road trips and visited destinations from coast to coast. They enjoyed many friends in Lawton and liked hosting fondue parties and going out to breakfast after church on Sundays. They loved celebrating Christmas and gifted their kids and grandkids with beautiful hand-crafted ornaments, stockings, and wooden candle stick holders for their holiday tables.

Al was preceded in death by son Albert Thomas IV; his mother and father; his stepfather Burton Bancroft; brothers Thomas Candy and Burton Bancroft Jr.; and sister-in-law Barbara Bancroft.

He is survived by his amazingly wonderful wife, Lucille; four children: Jeannine Gasseling and husband Tom (Hemingford, NE); David Candy and wife Sherri (Oklahoma City, OK); Ann Lawson and husband Gene (Manhattan, KS); Linda Barrow and husband Bobby (Anadarko, OK); 16 grandchildren: Heather Kratzer and husband Brett (Lodgepole, NE); Ryan Gasseling and wife Jennifer (Hemingford, NE); Laura Bailey and husband Mike (Kearney, NE); Matthew Gasseling and wife Michaela (Hemingford, NE); Andrew Gasseling and wife Becky (Kenesaw, NE); Michele Morken (Oklahoma City, OK); Seth Speigel and wife Kathy (Yukon, OK); Teresa Candy (Oklahoma City, OK); Jonathon Candy and wife Lindsay (Yukon, OK); Alex Pedraza (Oklahoma City, OK); Sam Lawson and wife Michelle (Topeka, KS); Candra Good and husband Brad (Sheridan, WY); Amy Lewis and husband Tony (Manhattan, KS); Kayla Maldonado and husband Ben (Manhattan, KS); Jesse Barrow and wife Kelsey (Piedmont, OK); Hillary Bradshaw and husband David (Harrah, OK); 37 great grandchildren (and one on the way); and two great great grandchildren on the way; brother John Bancroft (Dallas, TX); sister in law Evelyn Bancroft (St. Cloud, MN); and many cousins, nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be sent to Traditions Hospice of Lawton. The check must be made out specifically to 'Traditions Hospice of Lawton'. Please mail to: Traditions Hospice, ATTN: Kristy, 1836 NW 52nd Street, Suite B, Lawton, OK 73505.