Verna Mae Cardinale

Verna Mae Cardinale (nee Sparks), age 95, of St Louis, Missouri passed away on Thursday, January 20, 2022. She was born on January 15, 1927 to Oscar and Helen Sparks (nee Brown) in Portsmouth, Ohio. She spent most of her life in St. Louis, Missouri, where her family moved when she was just two.

Verna is survived by four children: Sam (Jeanne) Cardinale Jr., Mary (John) Henry, David (Sindy) Cardinale, and Nancy Cardinale; by her daughter-in-law, Heather Cardinale, and by ten grandchildren: Matt Cardinale, Gena (John) Lammering, Andrea (Denny) Tharian, Elizabeth (Kerry) Shadley, John Henry, III (Erin), Kevin Cardinale, Katherine Cardinale, Daniel Cardinale, Connor Cardinale and Harper Stanton. In addition, she leaves seven great-grandsons (Tyler Cardinale, Asher Lammering, John IV "Charlie" & Noah Henry, Abram & Emmanuel Tharian and James Shadley) as well as two siblings, Betty Burkett and James Sparks. She was preceded in death by her husband, Sam Richard Cardinale, Sr., two sons, John Cardinale and Robert Cardinale; her parents, six brothers (Edward, Al, Leonard, Walter, Zebedee & Thomas) and one sister (Rose Martin).

Visitation will be from 10:00 am until 11:00 am with a mass to follow at 11:00 am, on Thursday, January 27, 2022 at Saint John Bosco Catholic Church, 12934 Marine Ave, St. Louis, MO 63146. A private burial will take place at Calvary Catholic Cemetery in St. Louis. The funeral mass will be live-streamed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muxBmtarbe4

A Celebration of Life will be held at 11:30am on April 23 at Robinwood Community Center, 12556 Merrick Drive, 63146. Please RSVP (by April 13) to a family member if you plan to attend the celebration and luncheon.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Verna's name would be most welcome to the following:
The American Heart Association at: https://www.heart.org/donate
or to The American Cancer Society at: https://donate3.cancer.org

A bit more about Verna:
Verna worked as a homemaker, caretaker and stay-at-home barista all her life. As the eldest daughter, she helped tend to household duties and guard her siblings from a very young age. She left school before graduation (her one great regret) and went to work for the war effort. She participated in the dawn of the computer age, in a sense, by learning key punch operation. This led to a job at the St. Louis Army Ammunitions Plant in the mid 1940's. There, she met her future husband, Sam. She was 20 and he was eight years her senior. Her attraction to his keen sense of humor and intelligence was so strong that she convinced him to elope (in lieu of an engagement) in June 1947. In doing so, she joined another large, sprawling, closely connected family. She and Sam had six children and were happily married for 32 years until his untimely death in 1979.
Over the years, Verna was the organizer, preparer, and hostess of countless large celebrations, holiday meals and family dinners. For Thanksgiving alone, she cooked an elaborate turkey dinner with little help for groups of 10-30 people; she did this every year from the mid 1950's until the early 2000's. For decades, she made and served a special dinner every Sunday for her family. She created an environment where everyone felt welcome to stop by for a snack, a meal or just a chat and a cup of coffee. Her skill in preparing her coffee and her joy in sharing it were both legendary.
She was also an expert at infant care and child rearing. Friends and relatives called upon her routinely for support in attending to newborns or common childhood ailments. She always knew just what remedy was needed and how valuable mere reassurance could be. She was a natural mother who loved nothing more than supporting those around her and spending time with family. In later years she thoroughly enjoyed trips with her entire clan (children, in-laws and grandchildren) to the Ozarks and other locales.
In addition to family, Verna had several other interests and hobbies. She was an avid reader and a skilled word puzzle solver. She did a daily crossword well into her 90's; she also loved acrostics and other word games. She was adept at poker and played it monthly with friends for many years. She thoroughly enjoyed St. Louis sports, especially the Cardinals and Rams. She was thrilled to celebrate their championships and would agonize over painful defeats.
Verna was an amazingly resilient woman. She bested scarlet fever as a child and two bouts of breast cancer as well as COVID as an adult, among other ailments. In her 60's, she successfully quit a 40-year smoking habit. She gracefully coped with the untimely, unexpected losses of her husband (Sam), her youngest son (Robert) and her second son (John). She could always offer a gentle perspective and encouragement when needed. She will be dearly missed by all who loved her, though she will forever be in our hearts.