We are sad to announce that our dear friend J. Candace Clifford died this morning at her home in Alexandria, Virginia, after a battle with brain cancer. Our heartfelt condolences go out to her mother, Mary Louise Clifford, and all her family and friends.
as the U.S. Lighthouse Society’s Historian.
Ask anyone deeply involved in lighthouse preservation to name the nation’s top lighthouse researcher and you’ll hear one name – Candace Clifford. With unparalleled knowledge of the National Archives lighthouse section, she was a critically important consultant to the National Park Service Maritime Heritage Program from 1988 to 2001, and was primarily responsible for its databases, resource surveys, and inventories, ultimately producing the first Historic Lighthouse Preservation Handbook.
A publisher and author of lighthouse history books, often with her mother Mary Louise Clifford, Candace documented the role of women in the lighthouse service, among other topics. Honored as well for other types of maritime history services, she was an officer of the American Lighthouse Council and a recipient of the lifetime Ross Holland Award for distinguished service in lighthouse preservation.
Most recently Candace worked closely with the U.S. Lighthouse Society as its historian assisting with the creation of, among other things, the largest lighthouse related research archive in the nation, to be named in her honor.
Executive Director Jeff Gales of the U.S. Lighthouse Society said, “We have lost a dear friend and colleague . . . she will truly be missed.”
Candace was the US Lighthouse Society historian from 2016 until she passed away in August 2018. For 30 years, her work involved lighthouse history. She worked with the National Park Service and the Council of American Maritime Museums. She was a noted author and was considered the most knowledgable person on lighthouse information at the National Archives. Books by Candace Clifford include: Women who Kept the Lights: a History of Thirty-eight Female Lighthouse Keepers , Mind the Light Katie, and Maine Lighthouses, Documentation of their Past.
Rest in peace dear Candace. You will be greatly missed. Thank you for your great legacy that we will continue to build upon!
Dear Candace – you’ve devoted thousands of hours to help us all better understand the subject of lighthouses in America, and your efforts have touched people from around the world. We are so grateful for all you’ve done for us; your wonderful work is forever.
Dave and Lynn Waller
Graves Light and Fog Station
Terribly sad news. She was one-of-a-kind.
Never got to meet her, but had some emails back and forth. Another great one passes over the bar.
OMG! This is a terrible loss to the entire lighthouse community!!!! She was an incredible person. So sad.
With sincere sympathy…may her light continue to SHINE!
MY SYMPATHY EXTENDS TO HER FAMILY. WE HAVE ONE COASTAL SOUL IN THE UNIVERSE, AS A POSITIVE FORCE, AND BE OF SERVICE TO JESUS CHRIST, IN ACTING LIKE A LIGHTHOUSE TO GUIDE OTHERS.
Candace left her mark at the Presque Isle Lighthouse in Erie, PA many years ago when she researched the early history at National Archives and provided us with copies of the daily journals for all of the nine lighthouse keepers.
We will miss her and her encouraging words.
Her important publications on the life and the history of lighthouses will preserve her legacy.
Her light will continue shine for all of us.
It’s very sad news for family and friends and the lighthouse community that has benefitted so much from her research skills, generosity, and kind nature for three decades.
As so many others are, I am deeply saddened by this news. Candace was always a warm and bright addition to any conference, meeting, or conversation that she was a part of. Her visits to Split Rock Lighthouse were always welcome and her knowledge indispensable. She will be missed.
All of us in the world of lighthouse research and preservation have lost a great friend in Candace. I had memorable times visiting lighthouses with her, particularly during the Nova Scotia lighthouse conference in 2000. She was always more than generous with her time and research. She will be deeply missed.
Condolences to her family and lighthouse friends.
I never met Candace but she was a shining light in the lighthouse community. I loved reading her articles. May she Rest In Peace and comfort to her family and friends.
We did not know Candace but through the Newsletter we felt her presence. Best wistes and condolences to her family
So very sad that she is now gone. And in the prime of her life. She will be greatly missed.
So sorry to hear of this. Candace was a tremendous asset to the lighthouse community and leaves a legacy of knowledge and having made so many connections between people and groups. She will be sorely missed. My sincere condolences to her family and friends.
With the passing of Candace Clifford our lighthouse community has lost a true shinning light and a tremendous force for research and preservation of everything related to lighthouses and their keepers. I recall when I first met Candace in person at the National Archives, where else, and was informed by the subject matter experts in Record Group 26 (lighthouses) that she knew more about what was there and how to find it than any of them. Just before she entered the hospital, I discussed with Candace a project to research several keepers at Hunting Island Lighthouse in South Carolina. Although she was ill, she saw to it that the project was abely completed by one of her interns. That was the level of Candace’s devotion to her cause, lighthouses.
My wife Jo and i extend our sincere condolences to her family, her friends, and all he colleagues in the lighthouse community. She will be greatly missed by all.
I have known Candace for over 25 years. She helped me in my research efforts while writing the NHL nomination for Thacher Island in 2000. We worked together several times since on various projects. She was always bright, responsive, friendly and smart.she would often send me research tidbits that she thought I might like which I always did. I will miss you Candy as a friend and a colleague
Can someone give me Candace’s mothers address to send a condolence note. Thanks Paul St Germain
Sent from my iPhone
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Her address is:
Mary Louise Clifford
545 E. Braddock Rd., Apt. 701
Alexandria, VA 22314
IT WOULD BE MEMORABLE IF SOMEONE COULD COMPILE A BIOGRAPHY ON HER LIFE AND FAMILY, AND POST ON A BLOG. SOMEONE THAT IS EXTREMELY KNOWLEDGEABLE AND THAT MAY HAVE SOME PHOTOGRAPHS AND HER DEDICATION TO THE LIGHTHOUSE AND HER INVOLVEMENT OF CIVIC AFFAIRS. JUST AN IDEA IF ANYONE CAN OR MAY WANT TO COME FORWARD, FOR THOSE OF US WHO DO NOT HAVE ANY MATERIALS AND ARE NOT COMPETENT TO COMPLETELY WRITE ABOUT HER LIFE. IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE LONG, I JUST THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE SOMETHING FOR HER MEMORY AND FOR US TO TREASURE.
Thank you for this excellent suggestion. There was an article about her in Lighthouse Digest magazine in 2005, but she certainly accomplished a great deal in the years since then. Here is a link to the 2005 article: http://www.lighthousedigest.com/Digest/StoryPage.cfm?StoryKey=2242
MY FRIEND THANK YOU FOR THIS LINK, I SHALL INDEED TREASURE IT. I AM SURE OTHERS WILL APPRECIATE THIS AS WELL. MY LATE FATHER WAS A MAN OF THE SEA HE WAS A WORLD WAR II VETERAN IN THE US NAVY AND US COAST GUARD.
The loss of Candace is devastating. I wonder if she had any idea how many she touched and how thankful so many were for the enormous contributions she made to lighthouse preservation and history. Candace never lost patience with this fledgling researcher and always found time to be of help. I don’t know what the world will do without her.
Few people come along in our lives who are all things good, just, generous, inspirational, and an educator. Candace possessed all these assets and much more. She helped me in too many ways to mention since 1998, including sharing decades of research, but most of all, she encouraged me to continue volunteer work for North Carolina’s lighthouses. I extend my sincerest sympathy for her mother and other family and friends. I have the heavy feeling that was experienced when we lost Cullen Chambers. It’s up to us now to carry the torch.
Well put, Cheryl, and so true.
A nice tribute here: https://councilofamericanmaritimemuseums.org/2018/08/17/the-maritime-community-has-lost-a-great-friend-with-the-passing-of-j-candace-clifford/
I only heard of this today. What a terrible loss. Candace was very helpful to me years ago when I published a book about the Montauk Lighthouse. May she rest in peace.