Laurie-Jo Cardea

Laurie-Jo (Bauer) Cardea, 67, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, April 29, 2025, at her home in Hampstead, North Carolina. Laurie-Jo was born in Xenia, Ohio, to the late Clifford Joseph Bauer and Jean Kyle Bauer. She was preceded in death by her husband, Carmen, and is survived by her children, Tom (Kelly and Finnegan) and Erin, her brother Scott (Kathy), and several cousins, nephews, nieces, and beloved in-laws.
A 1976 graduate of Bowie High School in Bowie, Maryland, Laurie-Jo was an accomplished musician, performing with the famed traveling jazz band, the Bowie Starliners. She attended Bauder Fashion College in Miami, Florida, before moving to Columbia, South Carolina, where she started her family with her first husband. In 1986, Laurie-Jo married Carmen Cardea, a Navy nuclear engineer. The family lived in several locations before ultimately settling back in Bowie in 1993.
Laurie-Jo was the office manager for an amusement park in Marietta, Georgia, before she landed her dream job as the special events coordinator for the Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta. After moving back to Maryland, she spent the next 30 years as the office manager for Manell Selter, PLLC, a law firm specializing in intellectual property. Upon her husband's passing, Laurie-Jo moved to Hampstead, North Carolina, to be closer to her son's family and to be there for her grandson. She built her dream house and found a wonderful community when she began part time work for Lower Cape Fear Lifecare, a non-profit hospice group.
Laurie-Jo's greatest joy in life was being a mother and a grandmother. Aside from her two biological children, she was known as "Mom" to so many. She especially loved her NJROTC kids, her Chi-O Girls, and her firefighter family, many of whom she kept in touch with over the years, cheering them on in their endeavors and consoling them during their challenges. Laurie-Jo enjoyed organizing and hosting parties and get-togethers, traveling all over the world (but mostly Scotland!), researching her family's heritage, and always finding the good in every person and situation. She loved watching her grandson grow up and was his biggest fan for all of his ventures, especially when he played baseball.
A Celebration of Life will be held from 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM on Friday, May 2, at Wilmington Funeral and Cremation on 41st Street in Wilmington. Interment will be announced at a later date and will take place at Arlington National Cemetery, where Laurie-Jo will rejoin her husband.
The family would like to thank Lower Cape Fear Lifecare and all the family and friends for the support and outpouring of love that they have shown the family during this time. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Lower Cape Fear Lifecare in Wilmington, NC, please see link below.
Laurie-Jo's family has entrusted her care to Wilmington Funeral and Cremation, 1535 S. 41st Street, Wilmington, NC 28403 To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Laurie-Jo Cardea, please visit our floral store.