Mrs. Dorothy Elaine McElhinney Bardo, age 86, of Amelia Island, passed away on Monday, February 22, 2016 at the Retreat of Osprey Village.

Born in Wilmington, DE, she is the last of nine children born to the late John Hamilton McElhinney and Naomi Wood Abbott McElhinney. Growing up in Wilmington, she was a graduate of Wilmington High School, where she was a cheerleader, member of the National Honor Society and a member of the School Council. In 1950, while attending a New Year�s Eve party, she met Donald Edward Bardo, who she would marry in 1952. The Bardo�s made their first home in El Paso, TX with Mr. Bardo�s military assignment with the U.S. Army. They later settled in the Bridgewater, NJ area where Mrs. Bardo worked as an executive secretary for Johnson & Johnson from 1970 until retiring in 1985. In 1990 she and her husband moved to Florida.

Mrs. Bardo was an accomplished seamstress, sewing ballroom dance gowns and her children�s annual Halloween costumes. Her nickname, �Disney Grandmom�, was inspired by the annual Disney family gatherings.

In addition to her parents and siblings, she is preceded in death by a great grandson.

Mrs. Bardo leaves behind her husband of 64 years, Donald Edward Bardo, their three daughters and their spouses, Nancy and Chuck Cobb, Yulee, FL, Ruthie and Paul Rushmere, Newark, DE, Shari and Frank Mastria, Biltmore Lake, NC, six grandchildren, three great grandsons and numerous nieces and nephews. Daughter Nancy and husband Chuck provided care and devotion along with the Osprey Village Memory Care Staff and the Hospice of Northeast Florida Staff.

Mrs. Bardo�s final resting place will be in Jacksonville National Cemetery.

Memorial services will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Hospice of Northeast Florida, 4255 Sunbeam Road, Jacksonville, FL 32257 or to the Alzheimer�s Association, 4237 Salisbury Road, Suite No. 310, Jacksonville, FL 32216

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