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- A dedicated servant to God, the poor, and the weak, as well as a loving mother and wife, Dr. Marjorie Nelle Hyder Cardwell, 82, went home to our Lord and Savior on December 26, 2009, after a brief illness.
She was born to Jonathan Hampton Hyder and Gladys Rhea Hyder of Elizabethton in the same home where her son now resides. Seventy years ago Marjorie Nelle accepted Jesus as her Savior in the same church where she later taught Sunday School for decades, First Baptist Church of Elizabethton. Marjorie Nelle and her husband, Bob, were inseparable. Their worldwide travels presented them countless opportunities to witness to others. Marjorie Nelle's favorite verse, Matthew 25:40, was her life's motto. "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." These words guided her to crusade for the rights of those less fortunate.
Although Marjorie Nelle lived in Greenwood, SC, Ormond Beach, FL, and Nashville, TN, her roots as a Hyder and Rhea ran deep in the Appalachian Mountains. Dr. Cardwell taught Speech & Hearing in the Elizabethton City Schools for several years while starting classes for the mentally handicapped. In 1969 she went into state government with Dr. James Willett at Greene Valley Developmental Center. Her life-long passion became a career that spanned over three decades. Marjorie Nelle fought for developmentally disabled citizens' rights from the hills of east Tennessee to the top of Capitol Hill in Nashville. She and Bob were active in the Association for Retarded Citizens (ARC), Holston Methodist Home for Children, the Carter County-Elizabethton Library Association, First Baptist Church of Elizabethton, the Southern Baptist Convention, Watauga Association, Hale Community Ministries, along with many organizations that benefited people of all walks of life. Although Dr. Cardwell held many degrees, her most notable education was through her developmentally disabled son, Robbie.
Known to everyone as Marjorie Nelle, her tiny frame was mighty. There was no mountain, judge, or crusade that was bigger than her and her faith. Goliath would have run! Her career as an advocate for people with developmental disabilities began when her son, Robbie, was born in 1950. However, she was an advocate for all people regardless of how differently-abled or their status in society. Dr. Cardwell was known state-wide as a crusader not only in upper east Tennessee as Superintendent of Greene Valley Developmental Center, but across the entire state of Tennessee and to other states. She served as Superintendent of Clover Bottom Developmental Center, and after retiring was asked to return as Assistant Commissioner and later as Commissioner of Mental Health and Mental Retardation.
Dr. Cardwell is survived by her sons, Robert E. (Robbie) Cardwell, III and Jon Hampton Cardwell and wife, Julie all of Elizabethton; and her daughter, Jennifer Lynn (gin) Cardwell Perkins and her husband, Steve, Hermitage, TN. She is also survived by her sister, Jane Rhea Hyder Clayton and husband, Neville T., Daytona Beach, FL; and her sister-in-laws, Leunah Cardwell (Doodle) Tipton, Elizabethton and Mary Ruth Cardwell Ownby, Richmond, VA. Her six grandchildren: Robert (Bobby) Dail, Rachelann, and Jon Thomas (Tommy) Cardwell, and Austin Bradford, Dustin Andrew, and Sarai Linnea Perkins along with her two great-grandchildren, Tristan Perkins and Maria Medina Perkins, will always fondly remember their MomMom. Her husband and best friend of sixty years, Robert Ernest Cardwell, Jr., Daddy Bob, was welcomed into God's arms on December 13, 2008.
A service to celebrate the life of Marjorie Nelle Cardwell will be conducted at 7 p.m. Tuesday at First Baptist Church with Dr. James Royston and Dr. David Irby officiating. Graveside service will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday in Happy Valley Memorial Park with the Rev. Bob Polk and Rev. Ron Owens officiating. The eulogy will be given by Mr. Jon Cardwell. Music will be provided by Julie Cardwell, Sally Shook Harris, and Erica Yoon, violinist. Active pallbearers, who are requested to assemble at the church at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday and at the funeral home at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, will be deacons and the Potter's Clay Sunday School Class of First Baptist Church.
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Abt 1927 - 2009 (~ 82 years)
