Jennifer R. Cardwell, 58, died Wednesday, March 17, 2021, after a battle with cancer. Cardwell is remembered a “magical” person and someone who loved everyone.
(PHOTO COURTESY OF FAMILY)
GLASGOW, Ky. — The light of a community often shines as bright as the people who live in it. Barren County lost a portion of its light last week.
Jennifer R. Cardwell, 58, died March 17 after a second battle with cancer, according to her family.
“She caught my eye because she just lit up a room,” said Kellye Soto.
Soto, a Glasgow native, moved to New Orleans several years ago. She worked as a professor of sociology in the city. But she returned home as a widow with two small children after he life was ravaged by the death of her husband.
“You know, I had really faced hard times,” Soto said.
With little money in hand, Soto began volunteering her time to receive benefits through the Kentucky Transitional Assistance Program. She began work at the Salvation Army but was later transferred to Protection and Permanency.
That’s where she met Jennifer.
“She just seemed like a magical lady,” Soto said.
Though she “worked” as a social worker, Cardwell’s passion and drive for service demonstrated it wasn’t work at all to her.
“She didn’t walk into a room, she just kind of walked on air,” Soto said. “She had angel wings. In my moment in life, there she was. She lit up the room.”
Soto remembers Jennifer as a happy and lively individual.
“Her smile was intoxicating,” Soto said. “And little did I know at that moment in my life that I would end up not only knowing her name but sitting with her in her dying hours; and eating her vegetables that she grew in her garden; and becoming best friends with her sister, who she helped raise.”
Cardwell’s spirit was a saving grace during a difficult time for Soto.
Carolina Villatoro said Jennifer had a special way of showing people they mattered. She was one of them.
“From the moment I met Jennifer, I quickly sensed the compassion and care she had towards myself and all human beings,” Villatoro said. “She was selfless, she was kind, and more importantly, she loved all.”
Aside from her job, Jennifer attended Union #2 Baptist Church. She attended the church for 48 years and served as a Sunday school teacher, according to her obituary.
She was also president of the Ramblers Square Dancing Club and a member of Eastern Star.
Cardwell was preceded in death by a husband, Joe E. Cardwell, and her father Billy Reneau.
