Anna Cardwell and Eldridge Toney.Photo:Anna Cardwell Instagram
Anna Cardwell Instagram
Eldridge Toney’s last moments with his wifeAnna “Chickadee” Cardwellare seared into his memory.
Cardwell wasdiagnosed with stage 4 adrenal carcinomain January, and in the days before shediedon Saturday at age 29, Toney tells PEOPLE the reality star’s family gathered together to support her and say their reluctant farewell.
“Everyone was crying and freaking out, because we all knew what was happening,” he recalls. “I did my best to be calm for her. I rubbed my hands through her hair, held her hand and told her it was going to be OK.”
He shares, “I was holding her hand when she took her final breath.”
Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell and Eldridge Toney.Anna Cardwell/Instagram
Anna Cardwell/Instagram
Toney, whomarried Cardwellin March after she learned of her cancer diagnosis, shares that he vowed to his wife to keep her memory alive forher daughters— Kaitlyn Elizabeth, born in 2012, andKylee Madison, born in 2015.
Cardwell’s motherMama June Shannonconfirmed theToddlers & TiarasandHere Comes Honey Boo Boostar’s death Sunday onInstagram.
“With the breaking heart, we are announcing that @annamarie35 is no longer with us. She passed away in my home last night peacefully at 11:12 PM,” Shannon, 44, 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.”
Cardwell’s family and friends gathered Wednesday forher funeralat theWilliams-White Columns Funeral Homein Gordon, Georgia.
During the service (which PEOPLE was invited to attend), guests sharedtheir favorite memories of Cardwelland agreed that she"had spunk until the very last moment.“A friend she’d met working at Walmart said Cardwell was always full of life and did whatever she wanted because she didn’t care what people thought.
Cardwell’s sisterLauryn “Pumpkin” Efirdemphasized how Cardwell loved her two daughters, 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.
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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
