Carolyn "Candi" Wilson

Carolyn “Candi” Wilson was born in 1947 to Carolyn and Charles “Chuck” Wilson.  She grew up in Orange County attending Garden Grove High School.  After graduating with scholarship offers to both UCLA and USC, she married United States Marine Jim Vlcek stationed in California from his home state of Illinois.  Early in their marriage, they lived in Twenty-Nine Palms, but soon settled into a comfortable neighborhood in Orange where they lived for 20 years.  

Here they created memories with friends and family that would last a lifetime.  Candi raised two boys, Jim and Jason, turning their house on Brynwoood St into the social center of the neighborhood - a constant hub of sports games, parties, and other activities.  She was the ultimate soccer mom before the term existed, shuttling her sons to to a variety of sports practices season after season.  Her unwavering support continued as both boys graduated high school and began playing college sports - Jim, baseball and Jason, soccer.  She attended every game she could and even traveled out-of-state to see her boys play.  

As her sons got older, Candi took a job at the local radio station while also going back to school to earn her degree and teaching credential.  She graduated from Chapman College with a Masters Degree in Special Education.  Following her divorce, she moved to Idaho with her new husband.  During her seven year stay in Bonners Ferry, Idaho, Candi worked as a counselor placing adults with special needs in appropriate jobs.  She was committed to her job and her clients, getting to know them personally and providing support well beyond just finding them a job.  

After her husband passed, Candi moved back to Orange County and found a special ed teaching position with Santa Ana School District.  Around this time, both Jim and Jason got married and had children.  The grandkids soon became the new light of Candi’s life.  She showered her grandchildren (Meghan, JD, and Haden) with gifts and attention. She loved to take them shopping and out to dinner.  An avid knitter, Candi made sure each member of her family was well-supplied with beautiful blankets, scarves, and beanies, and made a special effort to gift her grandchildren with mementos to treasure.  In 2009, Candi married Walter Lubell with all of her family present.

Candi was fun and talkative and interested in life.  No matter the company, she was able to engage anyone in lively conversation, always attentive to other people’s lives and feelings.  She loved knitting, crocheting, and other forms of needle work and was never without her sewing bag.  Her favorite color red was always in evidence - red glasses, red purse, red scarf or red earrings.  

Candi passed peacefully on December 5, 2019 after a short illness.  She was preceded in death by both of her parents.  She is survived by her husband, Walter, brother, Chad Wilson, her sons, Jim and Jason, and her grandchildren, Meghan, JD, and Haden.  

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the University of Illinois, Springfield - Women's Soccer Team, in Candi's name.

University of Illinois Athletics

C/O Erin Egoff

One University Plaza

Springfield, Il. 62703

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Carolyn "Candi" Wilson, please visit our floral store.