Victoria Alhamoodah Obituary

Victoria (Vickie) (Brown) Alhamoodah passed away on January 5th, 2026, hours after her 80th birthday. Vickie was a beloved mother, sister, and friend. She was born in Idaho Falls, ID in 1946, the first daughter of June Marie (West) Osmond and Alfred Junior Brown. In her youth, she enjoyed time at her family's cabin on the Snake River, before the family moved briefly to Reno, NV then settled in Holladay, UT. She graduated from Olympus High School in 1964 where she was a member of the choir, and attended the University of Utah until she married Gilbert (Gib) Cardwell in 1966. She and Gib traveled extensively while he pursued his PhD and they raised their two children, Elise and Ethan. They spent time in Bremerton, WA, Salt Lake City, UT, Berkeley, CA, Bloomington, IN, Syracuse, NY, Evanston, IL, and Skokie, IL before settling in Boulder, CO in 1981.

In Boulder, she found her home and built a rich community of friends and family. After splitting from her first husband, she met Rashid Al-Hamoodah in 1984 and they were married in 1989. They had one daughter, Leila, whom they raised in Boulder and then Longmont, CO. Vickie briefly moved to Natick, MA to support her daughter's ballet ambitions before returning home to Colorado. Over the years, she held various jobs, including summers at Yellowstone National Park, a jewelry and buckle-making farm, and many years at animal hospitals and vet clinics, cementing her love of animals, of which she rescued many.

Many things brought Vickie joy during her life. She was a fierce bridge competitor. She enjoyed several years of dancing at the Broker Inn in Boulder and dinner parties with her many friends from around the globe. She was a voracious reader of mysteries. She loved music and musicals, occasionally at a volume for her neighbors to enjoy. She was an avid fan of the Denver Broncos, and was particularly keen on their current success this season. She loved to tell stories of her adventures and misadventures throughout her life. She brought levity to any conversation, and always greeted others with a smile when they entered the room. She was extremely empathetic and compassionate, making friends everywhere she went. And most of all, she was a devoted mother and grandmother, eager to support and spend time with her family.

Vickie is survived by her three children, Elise Cardwell Thomas and her husband Karl (Longmont, CO), Ethan Cardwell and his wife Marjorie (Middletown, MD), and Leila Al-Hamoodah and her husband Zach (Boulder, CO), as well as her sister Claudia Brown (Longmont, CO), her brother Fred Brown and his wife Tonya (Hernando, FL), and her brother Kirk Osmond and his wife Tina (Chugiak, AK). She is also survived by six grandchildren and numerous other family and friends.

Her family plans to host a memorial celebration at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please consider planting flowers in a garden in her memory. She was particularly fond of lilacs.