- Date Of Birth: December 26, 1930
- Date Of Death: February 19, 2016
- State: North Carolina
Mary Ella Coffey Cardwell, 85, of 412 Pinedale Drive, Reidsville, North Carolina died at Wesley Long Hospital on Friday, February 19th. She was born in High Point, North Carolina on December 26, 1930, the daughter of the late Vernon Smith Coffey and Hessie White Coffey. A life-long musician, she began the study of piano at the age of eight, which continued throughout her years at High Point College, where she graduated magna cum laude in 1952 with a degree in music. She and her husband, the late Harry B. Cardwell, Jr., were members of the college quartet that sang at various venues in the area.
Always a church musician, she became pianist at her local High Point church at the age of twelve, and at the age of eighteen was hired as Choir Director there, where she continued to work until she and Harry moved to Reidsville, North Carolina in 1951 for a brief teaching stint of five years in the local schools. In 1952, she was hired as the Music Director at the Reidsville First Baptist Church, where she developed choirs for all ages. With the exception of one year, she continued in this position until 1963. In 1985 Mary Ella resumed the same position at First Baptist Church until 1998. She was twice director at Main Street United Methodist for a total of six years. She was also piano and voice teacher of children in the local area. In 2001 she became the Music Director at Calvary Baptist Church in Reidsville, a position she held until April 20, 2013.
In the early ‘80’s she developed and directed Serenade, an ensemble of nine selected women, who sang secular music together for eleven years at social, political, and church functions. She competed in the music composition competition of the Rockingham County Fine Arts Festival for two years and won first prize with each entry.
Surviving are her son, Harry B. “Chip” Cardwell III and wife Pattie of Eden, and daughter Mary Laverne “Bunny” Cardwell of Reidsville. Grandsons are Harry B. “Buddy” Cardwell IV and wife Sarah of Boone, and Patrick Ivan Cardwell of Winston-Salem. Also surviving are sister, Brenda LaVerne Coffey Moricle and husband Donald of Charlotte; brother, Richard M. Coffey and partner, Jason Charneski of Avon, Connecticut; and sister-in-law, Dorothy Cardwell Setliffe, of Little Rock, Arkansas.
