Candlin Dobbs Manley

Candlin Dobbs Manley, of Saint Johnsbury, Vermont, died on December 12, 2025, surrounded by family and friends.

Candlin was born on February 20, 1960, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to John Dobbs and Dora Dobbs (Deady). Her family later moved to Saint Louis, Missouri, where her father was a physics professor at Washington University and her mother founded an alternative school, Child Grove, in University City. Candlin was blessed by the addition of John Gianoulakis, who became her mother’s second husband and an important presence in her life.

Candlin graduated proudly from the University of Chicago with honors, earning a degree in English. While there, she met her lifelong best friend, Elene Mooney (Strates), and the two were members of the university’s fencing team.

Following college, Candlin worked in publishing as a technical writer. She lived in Denmark for several years before settling in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she founded Luminosity Technical Services. For more than twenty years, she worked as a consultant, writer, and project manager. During this time, Candlin became deeply involved in the Shambhala Meditation community. She was an active member of the Minneapolis Shambhala Center, serving in numerous leadership roles as well as a meditation instructor and teacher. She was instrumental in developing the international database for Shambhala International. She leaves behind many dear friends in Minneapolis, especially her beloved friend, Alan Carpenter.

Candlin met her future husband, Todd Manley, at a meditation program at Karme Choling in Barnet, Vermont. She eventually moved with him to Saint Johnsbury, where they created a beautiful and welcoming home on a dirt road, which Candlin lovingly decorated and transformed into an elegant place for living and entertaining. She delighted in hosting, decorating, and planting flowers and fruit trees on the land. Although she faced declining health in the last decade of her life due to chronic fatigue and dysautonomia, Candlin met her disabilities with courage, grace, and perseverance. She deeply loved Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. While she missed Saint Louis and Minneapolis, her heart ultimately found its home among the hills and meadows of Vermont.

Candlin drew people to her with her honesty, warmth, and genuine care. She had many friends in the Northeast Kingdom, Saint Louis, Boston, Minneapolis, and beyond, and she will be profoundly missed. She was especially grateful for her neighbor Mary Elizabeth Furr, and for her close friends Mark Wilhelmi and Heidi Meyer-Bothling.

Candlin is survived by her husband, Todd Manley of Saint Johnsbury, Vermont; her stepchildren, Celia Manley of Brooklyn, New York, and Paul Manley of Phoenix, Arizona; her half-sister, Charlotte Dobbs of Belmont, Massachusetts; her half brother, Alex Dobbs; her sister-in-law, Cynthia Linett, and her husband, Mark Linett, of Claremont, New Hampshire; her father’s widow and dear friend, Ellen Jo Wilson of Cambridge, Massachusetts; her cousins Anne Gibb and Celia Candlin of Manhattan;

her aunt Stavra Bayer and uncle Joe Bayer of Saint Louis; her cousin Joe Bayer and his wife, Theresa Bayer, of Saint Louis, and their children, Joey and Adrienne; her cousin James Gianoulakis of Saint Louis; dear friends Alyssa Person and Judy Mange of Saint Louis; and Elene and Tom Mooney of Boulder, Colorado.

She was predeceased by her mother, Dora Gianoulakis; her stepfather, John Gianoulakis; and her father, John Dobbs, all within the last six years.

Memorial ceremonies will be held at future dates in Vermont, Maine, and Saint Louis. The family extends heartfelt thanks to Caledonia Home Health Care and Hospice for the compassionate care Candlin received. Donations in her memory may be made to the Saint Johnsbury Athenaeum.

Memories and condolences may be shared with family at CaledoniaLifeServices.com.