Update: Mama June has revealed what she plans to do with her daughter’s ashes, at least for the foreseeable future.
According to TMZ, before Anna passed away, the family talked about taking a family vacation over the holidays to Disney World. And although Anna is able to make it, Mama June said she’ll still be a part of the family event.
As TMZ reports, Mama June will bring Anna’s ashes with her as the family has rented a house near the Most Magical Place on Earth. The family has a small urn with some of Anna’s ashes in it and the thought is that they will bring that urn with them so that it feels like she is part of the trip.
Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell’s husband is speaking out, sharing the last few moments he had with her in an interview with People.
“Everyone was crying and freaking out, because we all knew what was happening,” Cardwell’s husband, Eldridge Toney recalled. “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.”
Toney and Cardwell wed after they had learned she was diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the short time they had together as husband and wife is a moment in time they will always remember.
“I was holding her hand when she took her final breath.”
“The day before she passed, we had our talk and said our goodbyes,” he says. “Her dying wish was for her girls to grow up knowing who their mother was. And I promised I would do right by the girls always. I will spend my life doing right by Anna and the girls.”
UPDATE: TMZ is reporting that Mama June has been rewarded custody of one of her late daughter’s children.
According to reports, Mama June will assume custody of Anna’s oldest daughter, Kaitlyn, 11. Her youngest daughter, 8-year-old Kylee will remain with her biological father, Michael.
Despite her rocky relationship with her own daughter, TMZ reports that the family still believes “moving Kaitlyn to her GiGi’s house is the best situation for her.” June has “plans to become Kaitlyn’s legal guardian.”
Anna married the man she was involved with during her cancer battle, Eldridge Toney, in a secret ceremony just months after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. Despite not being biologically related to his stepdaughters, Toney had created a close bond with the girls and is expected to stay in their lives.
So heartbreaking.
Mama June is sharing the details of her daughter’s funeral service. On TikTok, Mama June revealed that Anna will be laid to rest on December 13.
“It’s so quiet in here,” June said in the video. “The machines aren’t running. She’s not sitting in here watching cooking shows. It’s just so quiet.”
@officialmamajune @annamariecardwe39 let’s get this account to 1 million before Wednesday #mamajune #cancersucks Anna bitch going out with a #anna #chivkadee ♬ original sound – Mama June
In the end, June said it was Anna’s last wish that their fans be invited to her wake to say goodbye. “I just wanted to say thank you for loving her,” June continued before getting emotional and asking fans to “blow up Anna’s TikTok” hoping that she will reach a million fans before she is laid to eternal rest.
Just hours before Anna Cardwell passed away, one of her daughters, Katilyn, took over her “GiGi’s” TikTok account to share an adorable video. The video showed her giving a Chamoy pickle review.
However, as the comments section revealed, people simply can’t get over just how much Katilyn looks like her mom.
@officialmamajune Check out these pickle kits at @rustitosdulces and use Gigi‘s code mama June , for 15% off #picklekits #chamoy #mamajune #katilyn ♬ original sound – Mama June
“She looks identical to Anna! Prayers for all of you—I know this is so painful, especially on her children. Sending love to all of you,” one person wrote in the comments. “She looks identical to Anna! Prayers for all of you—I know this is so painful, especially on her children. Sending love to all of you,” another added.
Fans are also distraught over Anna’s last TikTok video which showed her in high spirits.
@annamariecardwe39 Life update!!!#cancersucks???? #roadtosuperstars ♬ Aesthetic – Tollan Kim
In the video, Anna revealed she was feeling and doing well as she continued her cancer battle revealing that she had just started radiation. Exactly one month later, the mother of 2 had passed away.
“How quickly things change this was only a month ago and now this beautiful girl is in heaven now rest in peace,” a commenter wrote as several others agreed.
UPDATE: New reports are revealing that Mama June’s oldest daughter, Anna ‘Chickadee’ Cardwell has lost her battle with cancer.
Five months after her latest cancer update, Mama June has told her followers on Instagram that her 29-year-old daughter, Anna, is “no longer with us.”
“With the breaking heart, we are announcing that @annamarie35 is no longer with us,” she began the caption of her post alongside a family photograph. “She passed away in my home last night peacefully at 11:12 PM. She gave one hell of a fight for 10 months she passed away with her family around her like she won’t and we will be updating y’all with more information as we get it today. We love y’all and continued prayers and thoughts for our family doing this difficult time.”
Anna’s youngest sister, Honey Boo Boo, has also issued a statement of her own as well on Instagram:
“This is one post I wish I didn’t have to make ???? Last night we all surrounded Anna with love & let her know it was okay to go. Unfortunately around 11pm Anna took her last breathe. Anna was in so much pain last night but now as a family we all know she is at peace now. I really don’t know what to say as my heart is completely broken. 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 ????. 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. 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!”
Mama June Shannon recently sat down for an exclusive interview with Entertainment Tonight to talk about how her 28-year-old daughter, Anna Cardwell, is doing now that she has completed four rounds of chemotherapy. Cardwell revealed in March that she was diagnosed with stage 4 adrenal carcinoma.
During the interview, Mama June said her daughter was ‘doing pretty good’ and ‘handling it pretty good’ since finishing chemo. “A lot of people thought that it was gonna make her sick and stuff like that, [but] she’s able to bounce back pretty quick,” June said – adding that the family is taking it one day at a time.
As for what’s next, Anna Cardwell is currently trying to decide whether she wants to move forward with clinical trials or immune therapy – there’s a chance she moves forward with neither. According to her mother, Anna ‘just wants to see how it’s gonna go’ – though they fully accept that the disease is terminal.
Mama June Shannon was accompanied by her three other daughters – Jessica ‘Chubbs’ Shannon, 26, Lauryn ‘Pumpkin’ Efird, 23, and Alana ‘Honey Boo Boo’ Thompson, 17. Lauryn and Alana agreed that their sister is doing ‘pretty good,’ but Alana added that chemo ‘does wear her body down sometimes.’
“She can still go to the grocery store, she can drive herself, she’s still able to take the kids to and from places,” Lauryn explained – adding that she “doesn’t have hair, she has no eyebrows, she doesn’t have any hair on her arms or anything like that.” She also discussed how Anna’s two children are handling it.
While Anna’s 10-year-old daughter, Kaitlyn, is aware of the diagnosis and knows that ‘Mommy is sick,’, she’s still a little too young to fully understand what’s going on. Mama June added that Kaitlyn has rarely left her mother’s side since the diagnosis and likely understands her mother won’t be here much longer.
You can watch the interview in full below:
“She’s 10, but she’s a lot more mature than that because she’s been raised around older people,” Lauryn said of Kaitlyn. Meanwhile, Anna’s 7-year-old daughter – Kylee – knows her mother is sick, but doesn’t exactly understand the extent of the illness. Still, the family embraces every moment they have together.
Mama June Shannon Isn’t Giving Up Hope
Mama June Shannon emphasized that, while the family has accepted the fact that Anna Cardwell won’t go into remission, they aren’t giving up hope for a new treatment or potential cure. They take things one day at a time, but hope modern-day technology can provide a miracle for cancer patients everywhere.
“Honestly, who’s not to say a year from now they’ll have a cure. The medical field is growing every single day. There’s always something,” Mama June Shannon said. “Think about how quick they came out with a COVID vaccine and things like that. I truly believe eventually there will be a cure for some kind of cancer.”
Meanwhile, Alana hopes her sister can continue to fight this disease – something we all know she’s capable of, though it won’t come easy. “It is crazy to think that she will not be here probably in five years, but I’m hoping that she can pull through and fight 10, 20 years,” Honey Boo Boo said in the interview.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Photos From Mama June’s Secret Intimate Wedding Are Here…But Were Her Daughters Involved?
Over the past couple of months, Anna Cardwell has been open about her journey since discovering her cancer diagnosis and throughout the chemotherapy process – she posts video updates on TikTok regularly (when she’s feeling up to it, of course). We’re wishing her all the best moving forward!