Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell.Photo: Anna Cardwell/Instagram
Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell’s friends and family are remembering her spirited nature four days afterher death.
Ather funeralat theWilliams-White Columns Funeral Homein Gordon, Georgia on Wednesday, which PEOPLE was invited to, her family shared that Cardwell was “spunky until the very end.”
A friend who she met working at Walmart said Cardwell was always “full of life” and did whatever she wanted because she didn’t care what people thought.
Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell.Anna Cardwell/Instagram
Cardwell’s sisterLauryn “Pumpkin” Efirdemphasized how Cardwell loved her two daughters, her husbandEldridge Toney, and cooking chicken and dumplings with biscuits and spaghetti for everyone. She grew emotional as she questioned how their family moves on after her death.
Efird, 23, told PEOPLE that the family is “doing as best as they can” and praisedMama June Shannon’s husbandJustin Stroudfor his support during this difficult time.
She noted that Stroud was the “biggest rock” of her family, especially while Cardwell was in hospice care, noting that he “carried 90% of the weight” during that difficult time. Efird said this allowed for Shannon, 44, to focus on being a mom and to mourn and spend time with her, while Stroud helped with providing medicine, running errands and being there “for her and everybody else.”
“Because he’s not blood, it was even that much more amazing how he really just stepped up and [showed us] what a good person he is,” Efird said.
Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompsonadded her sister’s death felt “surreal” and she was “still processing.” She also agreed with Efird that Stroud had been a huge help, saying: “I mean, he’s not even blood but he was doing everything.”
Cardwell — who starred alongside her family inToddlers & TiarasandHere Comes Honey Boo Boo—diedSaturday at the age of 29. Shannon confirmed the news in anInstagrampost the following day.
“With the breaking heart, we are announcing that@annamarie35is no longer with us. She passed away in my home last night peacefully at 11:12 PM,” Shannon wrote next to a family photograph. The family matriarch noted that Cardwell “passed away with her family around her” and thanked fans for their “continued prayers and thoughts.”
On Monday, Shannon shareddetails of the funeral arrangementsonsocial mediaand promised to honor her daughter’s life before herstage 4 adrenal carcinomadiagnosis in January.
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“Watching my 29 year old sister this last year battle this horrible disease hasn’t been easy. Anna was a fighter & still is. Lord please wrap your arms around her 2 babies & our family as the next couple of days will make this all a reality 🥹,” she wrote. “I’m so glad that you waited til I was home to take your last breath! I would’ve loved for you to get to see me graduate college but I know you will forever cheer me on in heaven!”
“We will all make sure your legacy lives on forever,” she concluded. “And I promise to always make sure to celebrate our birthday like you never left! The sky looks a little bit different today. We will always love you Anna 💔. You hit me hard with his one Anna but I know your in a better place now and pain free forever!”
source: people.com
