(NewsInsights.org) – June “Mama June” Shannon and her youngest child, Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson, debuted in front of America on TLC’s “Toddlers & Tiaras” in 2011, when Honey Boo Boo was only five years old. The pair hailed from rural Georgia and sported thick Southern accents and uniquely regional aphorisms. Viewers couldn’t look away, and TLC ran a spin-off, “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo,” to introduce the whole family. Sadly, Alana’s eldest sister, Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell, 29, passed away on Saturday, December 9.
Cardwell, a mother of two young daughters, Kylee and Kaitlyn, ages 8 and 11, succumbed to complications from advanced stage 4 adrenal cancer that spread to her liver, spleen, and lungs before diagnosis. Cardwell began chemotherapy in March and tried radiation therapy in November. She died on her youngest daughter’s eighth birthday.
Gina Rodriguez, a friend and the family’s manager since 2014, released a statement for the family on Sunday, saying they were heartbroken at the loss of Cardwell. She died at 11:12 p.m. December 9, surrounded by her daughters, sisters, husband, and close family in her mother’s home. “Anna gave [cancer] one heck of a fight.”
Thompson, now 18, wrote in an Instagram post dated December 9 how difficult it was to see her sister in so much pain. She said the family gathered to surround Anna with love and let her know she could let go. Although devastated, Alana took some comfort in knowing her sister was at peace. She lamented that Anna wouldn’t see her graduate from college, but said she knew she would always be with her.
In 2019, police arrested Mama June Shannon and then-boyfriend Geno Doak for felony drug possession in Alabama. Shannon tried outpatient and inpatient drug treatment programs in 2020 and 2021 before finally breaking off her relationship with Doak. Through TikTok, she met Justin Stroud, a mechanic and tattoo artist. The two married in March 2022.
Copyright 2023, NewsInsights.org
