Mama June and the Shannon family sadly said goodbye to one of their loved ones this past weekend. The outspoken matriarch announced that her daughter, Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell, died at the age of 29 on December 9 following a battle with cancer. In the wake of Cardwell’s passing, her relatives now have to make a number of arrangements and come to important decisions on certain matters. Part of that includes considerations that must be made for the two daughters that Cardwell is survived by. A new report has now provided some clarity regarding the custody plans for the two young ladies.
Anna Cardwell was mother to 11-year-old Kaitlyn Elizabeth and 8-year-old Kylee Madison. According to TMZ, Kaitlyn is set to be put in the care of 44-year-old Mama June, who is allegedly also seeking to become the minor’s legal guardian. The news outlet’s sources say that the mother of four has a strong relationship with her oldest grandchild. And apparently, because of the firm nature of that bond, the rest of the family reportedly agrees that it’s best that Kaitlyn be placed with her grandmother.
Meanwhile, other arrangements have been made for Kylee. The younger of the two sisters is said to currently be in the custody of her biological father, Michael Cardwell. That particular course of action was allegedly agreed upon by the family earlier this year, when Anna received her cancer diagnosis. While she’s not living in the same household as Kaitlyn, insiders say that Kylee is close with her older sister and that they’ll still see each other. The two girls seem to have a lot of support, including some from Anna’s partner, Eldridge Toney, who she was revealed to have secretly married back in March.
It was in January 2023 that Anna Cardwell, the older sister of Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson, was diagnosed with stage 4 adrenal carcinoma. Amid her treatments, she took a break from social media but returned in March and enthusiastically greeted her followers at the time. She subsequently shared a few more posts amid her continued challenges throughout the months that followed. Over the years, she also posted about her children on occasion. Check out the sweet image of Kaitlyn she shared:
For years, viewers watched the mom of two on a few reality TV shows, including Toddlers & Tiaras (which is streamable for Max subscribers). That program made sister Alana into a TV star, and the family parlayed that fame into the TLC spinoff Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, which was canceled in 2014. While Chickadee appeared on both of those shows, she didn’t appear on Mama June’s more recent show, which has received a few iterations.
Amid her daughter’s cancer battle, Mama June discussed her child’s struggles and got real about spending as much time as she could with her. She said at one point that she and her relatives “know what the endgame is and we are prepared for that.” While talking about her relationships with her other daughters amid that time, June admitted they were all “going through a lot” but were “in each other's lives” and “trying to fight the storm all together.”
The Shannon family is now, without question, facing a major period of transition. There may, at the very least, be comfort to be found in the fact that Chickadee’s daughters are being looked after. With their mother now gone, one would think that June and the rest of their relatives will seek to hold them close during this time.
We here at CinemaBlend continue to extend our thoughts to the family and loved ones of Anna Cardwell.
