FORT SMITH, Ark. — At 78 years old, Fort Smith icon Charolette Tidwell died on Thanksgiving day 2024.
Tidwell was a nurse for thirty years before fully retiring in 2001 to devote her time to her nonprofit, Antioch for Youth and Family.
Antioch for Youth and Family was founded in 2000 as a non-denominational food pantry. The organization feeds over 10,000 people every year and provides around 800,000 meals.
But, Tidwell's younger sister Martha Jones Ward said she was so much more for so many.
"When I lived in Texas, she sent four people to me to get second opinions at MD Anderson Cancer Center," Jones Ward explains. "Some only had two weeks to three months. But, that was 10 to 12 years ago. Three of those individuals are still alive."
Tidwell was an inspiration to countless people. Her son Lawrence Tidwell Jr. said she inspired her loved ones to always rise to the occasion at hand.
"She demanded that you give your best no matter how hard things got. She pushed us beyond our limits because of what she went through in her life. She wanted better for her children," Junior said.
Her daughter Cecilia Tidwell said she was so focused and determined, because she was in her God-given purpose.
"I saw the service that she embodied, lived, and breathed, it was not fake. It was real, and it was something tangible," said Cecilia with pride.
Even as her health declined, she still worked to give back. Jones Ward said her only regret is knowing Charolette still wanted to help more.
Now, Isaac Salazar, the new executive director of Antioch is continuing her work in her memory.
"I will never fill her shoes," said Salazar. "She was a great woman and there's not another Mrs. Charolette Tidwell in this world."
Antioch will be revealing a mural of Mrs. Tidwell on the North side of their building in Fort Smith next year.