Candelaria Hernandez

Candelaria Parada Hernández, 91, of Washington, D.C., and formerly of El Salvador, passed away on September 30, 2025, surrounded by her loving family in her beloved homeland.

Born in El Salvador in 1933, Candelaria lived a life defined by extraordinary sacrifice and resilience. In 1952, she married the love of her life, Jose Dolores Hernández, and together they built a family that became her life’s work. A devoted mother of 17 children, Candelaria faced unimaginable challenges with unwavering resolve.

In the early 1980s, during the brutal years of the Salvadoran Civil War, she and Jose made the courageous decision to immigrate to the United States. They uprooted their lives, driven by an unshakeable determination to secure a future of safety and opportunity for their large family.

Candelaria’s strength was forged through profound personal loss—she endured the heartbreak of losing five of her children: (Abel, Daniel, Dolores, and twin babies). Despite these devastating blows, her commitment to her surviving family never wavered. She was a living testament to the values she instilled in all of us: hard work, perseverance, and an unshakeable faith in family.

Candelaria will be remembered as the indomitable matriarch whose sacrifices allowed five generations to thrive. She is survived by 12 children (Mauricio, Juana, Concepción, Antonio, Virginia, Humberto, Cristóbal, Eduardo, Enoemis, Helmut, Milagro, and Douglas); 39 grandchildren (the Hernándezes, Medinas, Mejias, Walsh and Fishers), 58 great-grandchildren, and four great-great-grandchildren.

Her absence leaves a profound void, but her legacy lives on in the lives she shaped. May she rest in eternal peace.

The family will receive visitors during a wake on Wednesday, October 15, 2025, from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at St. Mark’s Parish, 7501 Adelphi Rd, Hyattsville MD 20783.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Thursday, October 16, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. at St. Mark’s Parish. Interment will follow the funeral mass at Mount Olivet Cemetery, 1300 Bladensburg Rd. NE, Washington, DC 20002.