Obituary of Mardell Dell

Mrs. Mardell Pauline Hawkins Dell, 98, a long- time resident of Newton, Alabama passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on Monday, September 13, 2021. Funeral services will be held 11:00 A.M. Friday, September 17, 2021 at Newton United Methodist Church, 209 East King Street, Newton, AL 36352, with Reverend Sam Williams and Reverend David Willis officiating. Interment will follow in Newton City Cemetery, Holman Funeral Home and Cremations of Ozark directing. The family will receive friends Friday in the church from 9:30 A.M. until service time. Mardell was born October 14, 1922 in Atlanta, Georgia to Clarence Harvey Hawkins and Pauline Mixson Hawkins. Shortly thereafter, her family moved to Midland City, Alabama. Mardell grew up in Midland City and the Sylvan Grove community. In 1938, Mardell married Broward Dell of Sylvan Grove, Alabama. They spent time in Belle Glade, Florida and Sylvan Grove before settling on a farm in 1948 in Newton, Alabama, where Mardell has since lived. Mardell and her husband raised six children on this farm, while working with livestock, peanuts, cotton, and other crops, including pecans and blueberries. While a very hard life, Mardell and her family enjoyed the farm and were active in the Newton United Methodist Church where she served as treasurer for over 35 years and was an active member of the United Methodist Women. She recently was honored for her 70 year membership. For decades, Mardell was up before dawn preparing breakfast to start the long days and in later years still prepared homemade biscuits each morning. In addition to her work on the farm, Mardell was also an excellent seamstress and made clothes for her family and quilts for family members. She worked on word puzzles to keep her mind sharp, loved playing Chicken Foot, traveling and having family members visit. She was much loved and respected by her family and by a surrounding community in which she had witnessed many changes over the years. Mardell was preceded in death by her husband of 55 years, Broward, her parents, two brothers, Samuel Mixon Hawkins and Edwin Clarence Hawkins, and one grandson, Jonathan Brock Wofford. Survivors include her brother, William R. (Beth) Hawkins, Birmingham; one son, Jerry Danny (Sue) Dell, Newton; five daughters, Sandra (James) Miller, Newton; Susan (Clint) Cole, Fort Payne, AL; Helen Young, Newton; Ethel (Mike) Campbell, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fl; and Millie (Robert) Koonce, Baytown, TX; grandchildren, Dan (Lisa)Miller, Pam Tyner, Phillip Wofford, Carmen (John) Rodgers, Rodney (Terri) Cole, Jim Koonce; great grandchildren, Ellana (Norman) Newsome, Tyler (Katlyn) Miller, Rebecca (Joey) Brooks, Lauren Crutchfield, Lindsey Crutchfield, Phoenix Sims, Skylar (Hunter) Chadwick, Taylor Wofford, Grace Cole, Abigail Cole, Amelia Rodgers, and Charlotte Rodgers; twelve great-great grandchildren; sister-in-law, Edith Dell; and numerous other loved family members. The family would like to thank Dr. Calvin Reid, Dr. Anita Choudhary, Kindred Health and Hospice and Flowers Hospital staff. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Newton United Methodist Church, 209 East King Street, Newton, AL 36352.