Carol Ann Eastman

Carol (Candy) Eastman passed away peacefully on May 30, 2026, at the age of 79.

The second oldest of six children and the eldest daughter, Candy was a natural caregiver from the start — someone who measured her life in service to others, especially children and the elderly. She was crowned Prom Queen at Ironton High School in 1966, and went on to become the first woman in her family to earn a college degree, graduating from The Ohio State University in 1971 with a degree in English, with a work-study focus in the classics.

She began a career as an elementary school teacher and married Paul Eastman, whom she had met in her final semester of college. Her deepest calling was motherhood. She became a mother to son Sam (b. 1975) and daughter Annie (b. 1978). When her children were young, she stepped away from the classroom to be present with them — and extended that care to the neighborhood, running a home daycare for the children around her for a short time. As a mom, she excelled at fun and creative projects, teaching her kids to sew their own costumes, make stop-motion films, garden, and follow their passions in music and theatre.

She returned to her career and spent decades in the classroom, eventually specializing in special education and retiring in 2015 from Hilliard Public Schools. Along the way she earned a Master's degree in Education Technology and served on state and district-level committees to improve education. For eight years she also worked with the Ohio Educational Council, building partnerships between businesses and schools.

In 2021, Candy left Columbus for Denver to be near her grandchildren, son, and daughter. She bought a condo that she affectionately called her “treehouse” and hosted fabulous dinners and sleepovers with the grandkids. She was a cherished presence at soccer games and school events, took the kids and their friends on museum visits, and twice a week picked up her granddaughter after school. She had a treasured five-year friendship with her neighbor, a retired professor from the Air Force Academy, with whom she shared a love of literature, movies and TV shows like the Ukrainian comedy series Servant of the People. She cherished her “balcony garden” (tomatoes were tops for her!) and thrilled to see a spectacular sunset over the mountains from her treehouse kitchen window.

After a diagnosis of ovarian carcinosarcoma, Candy underwent chemotherapy through November 2025. Then, from around January through Mother's Day 2026, she entered a new chapter — vibrant with short, curly hair, she explored astronomy, cooked Coco Morante recipes for her family, laughed more, read the philosopher Seneca, and put together a playlist on the theme of dying called Go In Peace. At one of her last dinner parties, she declared her wish to be reborn as a girl in Ireland. In her final days she tended to practical matters — getting her car emissions test, making arrangements with a crematorium — true to her nature of not wanting to be a burden to others.

She was selfless, independent, beautiful, and fiercely devoted to family. She is survived by her siblings Victor, Nina, Beth, and Bill; her children Sam and Annie; her grandchildren Wyeth (13) and Naomi (10); and her beloved Edmonds and Toebee cousins.