Amy's Promoted to Glory

Butterflies are free, our dear Amy.

No kinder soul you will ever meet, Amy E. Candello (née Gill), 60, has been promoted to glory, peacefully, with her family by her side after a two-year battle with pancreatic cancer.

Grounded in her faith, Amy approached her relationships with tender-heartedness and selflessness, and was committed to the devotion of others. That devotion of others made Amy uniquely brave.

Bravery isn’t bestowed upon a self-proclaimed “scaredy cat”. Instead, bravery for Amy came in the form of protection of those she met. And brave she was. The vulnerability of others—that many of us do not notice or choose to ignore—was accepted and respected by Amy. We all need that acceptance and respect. We all need an Amy in our lives. Lucky are we who knew her.

Amy had a long love affair with a man who matched her appreciation for people and talking. Talking to people. When you were in their company, they made you feel like the only one in the room and yet the only one who couldn’t get a word in at the same time. Amy made her community of people feel connected, wanted and needed.

As the winter gave way to spring, and the smell of fresh cut grass filled the air, Amy – along with her dear friend Heather – donned their baseball caps and sat near the third baseline as bat girls. This would start that love affair with a shaggy-haired ballplayer (David Candello) during the height of the Cincinnati Reds 70’s run. Little did Amy know that she’d raise her own “Charlie Hustle,” their golden retriever, and that Steve Young and the Chargers would be present as backdrops to their lives. Amy, in turn, invited many friends into her living room to ride the wave of Blazersmania in the 90s, among the faithful “Blazer Faith” and Dr. Bob. No better parties would you attend. Amy, as an avid tennis player, dominated the court and it was proven that her shaggy-haired love was never a match for her.

Amy and David welcomed a baby girl, Emily Katelyn, to their budding family in 1995; a baby girl was Amy’s greatest gift. The three of them, along with their second golden retriever Autumn, opened up their home to everyone and hosted gatherings every year that built lasting memories.

Being born in Oceanside, California (August 30, 1961) to a Lieutenant in the Dental Corps of the U.S. Navy who became a life-long dentist and a god-fearing mother who together became “Forever, Beaver Believers'' shaped Amy’s formative years that resulted in a lifetime of faith, community and athletics. The Gill family moved north with a stop in Medford, Oregon and settled in Portland.

Amy graduated from Cleveland High School (‘79) where, among many activities, she was a bat girl, on the cheer team and an accomplished gymnast. Her strength came from her discipline built on the mat.

Amy started her long career in the dental field alongside her father, serving much of the southeast Portland community. It is here, in her devotion to the dental practice, where she built a strong community of life-long friends. You couldn’t go anywhere with Amy without her running into someone she knew on a first-name basis. She retired with Dr. Kent Lee of Happy Valley, Oregon.

Left with decades of fond and beautiful memories are her husband (David), daughter (Emily) and her siblings Michael (Tina), Scott, and Alison Bruun (Scott), and by marriage: Steve (Kim), Mike (Laurie), Dom (Carla) and 10 nieces and nephews and one great niece.

She was preceded in death by father Dr. Robert “Bob” F. Gill and mother Faith Gill. Butterflies are free, our dear Amy.

Celebration of life for Amy and her father Dr. Gill will be held at 1 p.m. on October 1, 2022 at Milwaukee Covenant. In Lieu of flowers, be selfless and please donate to Doernbecher Child Life Program and/or The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.