- Date Of Birth: April 24, 1948
- Date Of Death: September 6, 2022
- State: Virginia
Wardell was born in the state of New Jersey, the only son of the late Wardell and Carolyn Yvonne Smith. His father passed when he was a small child. As a result, he and his mother moved to Washington D.C to live with his mother’s mother, Myrtle Chappelle Young. Wardell was a quiet person, so dedicated to his mother and grandmother. His mother suffered with illness most of her adult life, but Wardell was always there for her, showing her unfailing love. As a result of her illness, she had to be confined to special facilities; however, Wardell would faithfully, once a month, take her to a hotel to spend the weekend with him. He was also so loving to his grandmother.
He attended Spingarn High School in D.D., the Moody Bible Institute Distance Learning Center in Ohio, and the Washington Bible College. For years he worked at the Standard Drug Store on Minnesota Avenue in D.C., until taking a position at The Federal Reserve Board of Governors Print Shop, where he worked tirelessly until his retirement. Wardell fell in love with the late Linda Gilbert who unfortunately passed from cancer in 2012. As a result, he devoted his life to working with cancer victims. He was an advent poster on Facebook, having some four thousand friends. Growing up in the Tabernacle Baptist Church, he became the superintendent of the Sunday school there. Wardell enjoyed traveling all over the world and the study of Afro-American History. His passing was shocking to the many who loved him; however, he was a Christian, and God’s word assures us that when one knows Christ, physical death is God, and in His presence is fullness of joy (II Corinthians 5:8 & Psalm 16:11). Wardell leaves to cherish his memory many cousins and a host of friends whose lives he touched.
