Former Birmingham TV anchor Lynda Cardwell loved broadcasting and golf and did them both well.

After graduating from Hokes Bluff High School in 1979, Cardwell earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Alabama, then worked as a TV anchor for WJSU Channel 40 in Anniston.

From 1986-89, she was an anchor for WIAT Channel 42 in Birmingham, then worked in radio for WMJJ-FM Magic 96.

She then took a corporate communications job with HealthSouth before becoming an anchor on The Golf Network’s first primetime news show in January 1995.

Cardwell died on March 14. She was 62.

“She was very sweet and beautiful, so talented too,” said Alec Harvey, executive editor of Business Alabama and a longtime friend. “She was so kind and so brave.”

After she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, she continued working as much as she was able, handling her condition with grace and humor. “She was working even when she was not feeling well,” Harvey said. “Even when she was not working full-time, she was filling in at different stations.”

Her dream job came along as a host on The Golf Channel.

“I always loved working in television, and this was a golden opportunity to combine two things that I love: television and golf,” Cardwell said in a 1994 interview with The Birmingham News.

“I’ve always played, but in the last two or three years, I’ve gotten really interested in it, working with the Bruno’s Memorial Classic and other golf tournaments around the country that HealthSouth has been involved with. This is a dream job for someone like me.”

She was co-anchor of “Golf Center” when the Golf Network launched in January 1995, founded by Birmingham’s Joseph E. Gibbs, who was president and CEO, and golfing legend Arnold Palmer, who was chairman. The network started in Birmingham and moved to Orlando.

Cardwell was a member of Glencoe Church of Christ and Riverchase Church of Christ. “Her family and her church meant so much to her,” Harvey said.

A memorial for Cardwell will be held at noon today, March 20, at Glencoe-Hokes Bluff Chapel, with burial in Crestwood Cemetery.