Candida Boccuzzi Scharf

Candida Boccuzzi Scharf, age 92 of Fairfield, passed away Tuesday, February 21, 2023, at the Prestige Care Center nursing home in Fairfield, Iowa.

Candida was born June 29, 1930, in Stamford, Connecticut to Angelo and Maria Boccuzzi, the 8th of 9 siblings.

She graduated from the Boston University School of Education in 1952 and taught school (5th and 6th grades) for many years. Later she worked as a realtor, and then as a caseworker for Yale University’s Coordinating Council for Children in Crisis, where she worked to prevent abuse and neglect of children.  She was a registrar of voters in Connecticut and active in the civil rights movement in the 1960s.

She learned Transcendental Meditation in 1974, and the advanced TM Sidhis program in 1990. In 1989 Candida came to Fairfield where she was a librarian at Maharishi International University, before taking a job as a finance officer in the Transcendental Meditation organization.

After she retired, Candida enjoyed going to the Senior Center where she would visit with old friends and make new ones.  She loved sitting outside and watching birds, and liked the bird room at the Prestige Care Center where a new baby bird was recently born.   She enjoyed movies and doing crossword puzzles, playing scrabble, and earned a reputation as a formidable poker player.

Candida loved playing the piano at the hospitals and nursing homes in and around Fairfield. She was self-taught, played by ear, and had a large repertoire including Moon River, Summertime and many other classics. She was still playing music recently, while a resident at her nursing home.

Candida will be missed by her 4 children, David Scharf, Cora Trujillo, Peter Scharf, and Pamela Hunt; 5 grandchildren; 7 great grandchildren; and her one remaining sister, Stella Sorrentino.

She was preceded in death by her parents and 7 siblings.

Memorials may be made to Maharishi International University and mailed to David Scharf, 2132 Jade Lane, Fairfield, Iowa 52556.