Mama June's Husband Justin Stroud Was Family's 'Biggest Rock' amid Anna 'Chickadee' Cardwell's Illness (Exclusive)

Lauryn "Pumpkin" Efird told PEOPLE that Stroud "carried 90% of the weight" during her sister's health journey and final days

Anna "Chickadee" Cardwell's family had someone keeping them strong during her difficult health journey.

Cardwell is the oldest daughter of reality TV star Mama June Shannon and died on Saturday at the age of 29. Shannon, 44, shared the news in an emotional Instagram post and expressed that she "gave one hell of a fight" after being diagnosed with stage 4 adrenal carcinoma in January.

While attending Cardwell's funeral on Wednesday, Cardwell's sister, Lauryn "Pumpkin" Efird, told PEOPLE — who was invited to the private service — that Shannon's husband, Justin Stroud, was the "biggest rock" of their family during Cardwell's health journey.

Related: Anna 'Chickadee' Cardwell's Loved Ones Come Together to Celebrate Her Life at Emotional Funeral Service

Shannon and Straud married in a courthouse wedding on March 23, 2022, and said "I do" for a second time this past February with friends and family — including Shannon's other two daughters: Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson and Jessica "Chubbs" Shannon — in attendance.

Efrid told PEOPLE that Stroud "carried 90% of the weight" during the difficult time when Cardwell was in hospice care and helped her family by providing medicine, running errands, and was there "for her and everybody else."

With his help, Efrid said Shannon was able to focus on being a mom and spend time with Cardwell in her final days.

"Because he's not blood, it was even that much more amazing how he really just stepped up and [showed us] what a good person he is," Efird said.

Thompson, 18, also agreed with Efird that Stroud had been a huge help, telling PEOPLE: "I mean, he's not even blood, but he was doing everything."

Related: Mama June's Daughter Anna 'Chickadee' Cardwell Married Boyfriend Eldridge Toney Following Cancer Diagnosis

In a TikTok video on Monday, Shannon opened up about how things have felt different around her home since Cardwell's death.

"It's so quiet in here, the machines aren't running. She's not sitting in here watching cooking shows and it's just so quiet. The chair that she was in, you know, nobody is sitting in it right now because it has a blanket and a pillow that she used and that's where she passed away at," she said.

The Mama June: Family in Crisis star noted that she didn't know "how to describe the pain" and told her followers, "I know a look a hot mess, but my mind is so emotionally and mentally mindf---ed right now." 

Cardwell was a mom to two daughters of her own — Kaitlyn Elizabeth, 11, and Kylee Madison, 8 (whom she welcomed with ex-husband Michael Cardwell). According to a marriage certificate obtained by PEOPLE, she quietly married Eldridge Toney in March.

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During the funeral service, guests shared their favorite memories of Cardwell and agreed that she "had spunk until the very last moment." A friend who she met working at Walmart said Cardwell was always "full of life" and did whatever she wanted because she didn’t care what people thought.

When Efird spoke, she emphasized how Cardwell loved her two daughters, her husband, and cooking chicken and dumplings with biscuits and spaghetti for everyone. She grew emotional as she questioned how their family moves on after her death.

Those same sentiments were echoed in the funeral service's program, which featured a poem titled "Broken Chain." The poem detailed a family's grief after a loved one's death but noted how the "family chain" will "link again" in the future as "God calls us one by one."

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