Margaret Mary Cardwell

Born: March 4, 1929

Died: March 4, 2021

Margaret Cardwell was a woman who was all about family and friends. She didn't like to be idle. She could be found out in her garden planting flowers or at her sewing machine creating beautiful embroidered blankets or knitting hats, scarfs or booties or making jewelry. And she couldn't make just one because she didn't want anyone to feel left out so she would make ten. She had a theme for every Christmas. One year she made aprons for everyone-and I mean all of the family. For the men it was a bbq theme and for the women it would be ruffles or skirts. Another year she made hot pads and another she knitted hats and scarves and then the next year it would be necklace’s. It was more challenging to think of masculine necklaces so she'd settle on flannel pajama pants. She was so excited as our family grew so she could make the dresses and exercise clothes, sweat shirts and shorts. And Margaret was the ultimate dog lover. She had her beloved dog, Ernie, who ate better than most people. He was her constant companion and would sleep cuddled next to her on her bed or at her feet when she would sit down. She enjoyed sending her dog pictures to anyone and everyone that loved her.

Margaret was born in Grand Rapids, Ml. to Laurence and Eva Nidefski. She was one of five children, John Berchman 1923, Bernice Julie 1925, Margaret Mary 1929, Joseph Laurence 1930, and Barbara Ann 1932. Her family lived through the Depression and her father lost his job and they were evicted from their home. The children were separated and sent to different homes. The family moved often to keep ahead of the rent collectors. When Margaret was six years old, she was put on a ferry with a note pinned to her coat and sent to the convent in Green Bay, Wisconsin where her Aunt Lucy was a nun. She remembers being scared and alone. She and her sisters often spent the winters at the convent where they could be housed with other girls so they could be warm and fed. Her youngest sister, Barbara took the veil when she was 15. Because Margaret lived through the Depression, she found it difficult to see people holding their signs and asking for help. She always kept cash with her so when we drove by someone, she could hand them some money. She was such a kind hearted soul.

Margaret didn't finish high school but did get a job as a long distance operator for the telephone company in Grand Rapids, Ml. She made a good salary at the time and spent a portion of her wages on nice clothes-something that she didn't have as a young girl growing up in the Depression. Margaret left Grand Rapids at 17 with $16 in her pocket and took a train to Tacoma, Washington to live with her grandmother, Julia Clement.

In Tacoma, she met Willie John Turner on November 6, 1946 and they were married a month later on December 11, 1946. A very short courtship! They had 4 children, Linda Marie 1948, Joseph John 1950, Kathleen Michelle 1951 and John Michael 1953. Margaret was always about family. She would tell the story of how she paid $5 a month to her doctor and she lamented that she never managed to pay off the delivery of one child before the next one was born. At one of her doctor visit she received a dollar parking ticket. She was so upset she sent a letter to the city explaining that she had 4 children and couldn't leave them to "feed" the meter and that if they really wanted her to pay the fine-she would. She ever heard from them again. She was a stay at home mom, as were many at the time, and because of her Catholic upbringing, she made sure we all went to Catholic schools. She would drive us to All Saints School in Puyallup. Linda continued on to St. Leo's Girls school in Tacoma, Joe went to Bellarmine Prep Boys school also in Tacoma and Kathy spent a year at St. Leo's but graduated from Puyallup High School and John from Rogers High School. One of my fondest memories of mom was chasing the city bus because we missed the bus stop. She would drive trying to get ahead of the bus and get us to a bus stop to catch it.

We were able to do many of the fun things that families did. We went camping-more work for mom, and did the sports things. One of the things that mom insisted on was that the boys were not to leave their sister, Kathy out of any of their activities. It must be one of the reasons we are a close knit family.

Once the children were older, she got a job as a waitress at The Top of the Ocean, a restaurant on the Ruston Way waterfront. She loved to work that job because she could talk to adults (after years of kids) and she said people were always friendly. She later took a job at Honan's Restaurant in downtown Tacoma where she met and married Rod Cardwell. She and Rod were married for 46 years. Rod passed away 2015.They enjoyed the many years they had together and loved to take their grandchildren for weekends and entertain them. Rod being a lover of books would read to them endlessly, and they both spoiled them as only grandparents can do. Son, Joe, passed away in 2014 at 63 years old.

Margaret was always concerned about her education. Once the kids completed high school, she completed her GED and then began to take classes at Pierce College with her daughter Kathy. They actually had classes together and it was humorous to watch the other students when they found out they were related. She then continued on to the University of Puget Sound and got a degree in business administration in 1977 and opened her own accounting firm called Abacus Accounting. She did this for a few years and decided to put her energy into other endeavors. She and her friend, Anna Bartrof dabbled in the rental business. She said she needed to keep busy because Rod worked long hours and she needed something to do. They bought and maintained a few rentals in Tacoma and their exploits were very entertaining. They did all of the repairs themselves and it didn't seem to matter that they had no experience. Mom was such a softie that Anna would have to collect the rents. She would end up buying dog food for the renter's pets and food and diapers for their kids.

Margaret was an artist-she learned to do ceramics as part of her college experience. She gifted all of her children with various pottery. Some became door stops while others became entertainment dishes. She became quite skilled. Anything she chose to do, she did with gusto -something she also passed along to her children. She had quite the green thumb which she also passed along to 3 of her 4 kids. She could grow anything and loved to spend time planting flowers and watching how they bloomed to create a beautiful space. She could spend hours in the nursery department of every store planning her gardens.

She would also invite her family out for a visit and would take them sight seeing, taking picnics and enjoying a drive to the ocean. She was very close to her siblings and would talk to her sisters often. She would find items that she knew her sisters would appreciate and send it to them. Margaret was a force of nature. She was a go-getter and never felt anything was too difficult to do. She maintained her sewing and knitting into her 90's and offered her expertise to teach her children's friends how to sew and/or knit. Margaret was very generous with her time and talents. If you showed an interest in something that she was making, she would give it to you or make you one. She was a remarkable woman and will be greatly missed by all who knew her.

She is survived by her brother John 95 and her sister, Barbara 89. Her children, Linda Ellingson and her husband John; Kathleen LeToumeau and her husband Patrick; John Turner and his wife Cheri. Margaret's grandchildren: Meredith LeTourneau, Corinne LeTourneau, Sophia Ellingson Brown and Becky Ellingson and her great-grandchildren: Natalie 15, Brooke 14, Luke 12, Elise 4, Summer 1 and Evelyn Rose 9 months and two on the way.