Jessie Cline McCardell

Jessie C. McCardell, of Washington, DC, passed peacefully on July 7, 2025, after residing there more than seven years in assisted living. Prior to her move to DC, Jessie lived and raised her family in Bethesda, MD for 63 years.
Jessie was born in Mt. Jackson, VA on June 22, 1924 and raised in Chambersburg, PA, and later Mt. Jackson, where she graduated as Valedictorian of Triplett High School. She attended Shenandoah Music Conservatory for two years before transferring with a full scholarship to Peabody Conservatory of Music and Johns Hopkins University. After graduating with a Bachelor of Music degree in 1945, she taught public school music and math in Union Bridge, MD, where she met and married Thomas McCardell. When they later moved to the Washington, DC area, she became a legal examiner of music at the US Copyright Office.
She paused her full-time career to raise her daughters while teaching piano privately and directing the Children's Choir at St. Alban's Episcopal Church in DC. Returning later to work as a part-time office clerk at Equitable Life Insurance, she was offered an opportunity for training in computer programming. Equitable paid for her IBM home study course during the days of room-sized computers with punch cards, launching her 9-year career as a programmer. That career continued to advance with her subsequent employment at American Chemical Society and GEICO.
A tireless volunteer, Jessie was active in the Springfield MD Garden Club and Suburban Women's Club, holding offices of President and Treasurer in both, as well as being a member of the advisory board of Little Falls Public Library. An involved parent, she was a Girl Scout leader and active PTA member. She also volunteered with Meals On Wheels, Montgomery Co. Board of Elections (becoming a Chief Judge for her local election polling station), Over Sixty Service of Montgomery Co, and the Montgomery Co Thrift Shop for many years, becoming a paid manager there until age 89.
Everyone who knew Jessie agreed that she was a strong-willed woman, highly principled and fiercely independent, who was proud of her education and many accomplishments. She spoke the truth and lived her life according to her own rules.
After retiring in 1975, Jessie and Tom traveled the world extensively. She was an expert seamstress and made intricately tailored clothing and draperies. She took local art classes, becoming proficient in various mediums, and won awards for her sewing and painting creations. One of her most cherished accomplishments was being the only Maryland Woman's Club member to ever win the trifecta of the top three awards – Best in Show Original Watercolor, Best in Show Sewing and First Place Sewing – at a single MD state competition (2001). She delighted friends and family with holiday cards she designed herself, along with witty letters often ending in unexpected closings such as "So what's in your wallet?".
Music was always an important part of her life; she sang with the Paul Hill Chorale and Master Chorale of Washington for more than 25 years. She happily accepted the request by St. Dunstan's Episcopal Church in Bethesda, where she had been a parishioner and choir member for years, to set up and conduct a handbell choir, which she continued to direct until her move to assisted living in DC in 2018.
Jessie was preceded in death by her husband of 51 years, Tom. She is survived by her daughters, Nancy Davies and Claire McCardell (David Long), granddaughter, Shannon Browne (Spencer Browne), and two great grandchildren.
A celebration of life will be held on September 20 at St. Dunstan's Episcopal Church in Bethesda. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to her favorite charities, Doctors Without Borders and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.