Our community lost a dear friend and light this past week. Candida Gold passed away peacefully surrounded by loving care at HopeWest in Grand Junction on Wednesday, March 4th. If you knew her, you loved her. And, if you only met her once or twice it’s likely that you remembered her. Born in Mexico City in 1949, Candida was raised with the spirit of travel and love for this beautiful world and its people. Moving from Mexico City to London, and eventually settling in the bay area of California, Candida found herself in the middle of all the action of a wildly changing world. Her stories from those years would undoubtedly always leave the listener amazed.

She had the warmest of hearts (and hugs) and was considered a dear friend by many in Ridgway. She was the type of friend who touched lives deeply and made others in her life better people. She listened, she cared, and she made our world a better place. Candida was quite active and had become well known in Ridgway as she would regularly be seen walking around town, walking dogs, and sharing updates of her friend Kevin the Yak. Candida was extremely well read and remained current in world affairs. At one point, she even served on Ridgway Town Council.

Candida had a regular practice of updating her voicemail message on her phone. She always offered a message of positivity, of love and a reminder to anyone calling of what is truly important. In the days prior to her passing, she updated it once again, offering us all one last reminder of how to live. Her updated message says: “Have a wonderful day. Have a wonderful life. Behave yourselves. Be kind. Be gentle. Be good.”

Due to the pandemic, there are no services or gatherings planned at the moment. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the HopeWest Hospice Care Center of Western Colorado. A sincere thank you goes out to the incredible staff at HopeWest for all the love and compassion you shared with our sweet friend Candida in her final days. We love you Candida.