Memorials › Blaine A. Childress
Blaine A. Childress
21 Aug 1915 – 10 May 2009
| Birth | 21 Aug 1915 |
| Death | 10 May 2009 |
| Cemetery | Seymour Masonic Cemetery Seymour , Webster County , Missouri , USA |
| Added by | Lea Daniels on 15 Jun 2009 |
| FaG | https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/36996537 |
Bio
Blaine A. Childress, 93, died peacefully in his sleep May 10, 2009. He was born on August 21, 1915 on a farm in Seymour, Mo., the fourth of ten children born to Robert and Mattie Childress. He was a humanitarian until the day he died. A University of California (USC) graduate, he understood the importance of education. Upon retiring to Missouri, he established a trust that matched donated funds dollar for dollar to build a new library in the City of Seymour. He declined an offer to name the library after himself. Rather, he wanted the citizens of Seymour to be proud of their hometown library as represented by their city's name. He further established several annual college scholarships for worthy young people from Seymour High School in the names of himself, his mother, and father. He also established an annual scholarship for the Willow Springs Missouri High School in the name of his late wife Mildred. He established a college tuition refund program for all lineal descendants of his parents. Many family members now into the fifth generation utilized the program to attend college. He married Mildred Ann Thomas of Willow Springs, Mo., in 1942. They had no children. In the early 1940's, he attended Missouri State Teacher's College in Springfield, Mo. Afterward, he went to work for the Border Patrol flying a small airplane along our U.S. borders. During WWII, he was assigned to patrol the Florida coast watchful for German One-Man Submarines entering the canals of the state. He later served in the Navy during the latter part of WW II. After the war, he and Mildred moved to Los Angeles where he worked for the Glendale Fire Dept. While working, he completed a bachelor's degree in Business Administration with the University of Southern California. He attained the rank of Captain in the fire department and retired in 1974. While working as a firefighter he acquired various rental properties and became successful in the California real estate market. He moved back to the Springfield area in 1986 where he lived his remaining years. Preceding Blaine in death were his wife Mildred, parents, three sisters, and two brothers. He is survived by one brother, Herman Childress of Branson, Mo.; three sisters, Ruby Hargus of Marshfield, Mo., Louise Gault of Lake View Terrace, Calif., Lora Collins of Bella Vista, Ark., and many nieces, nephews, and friends. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, May 14, 2009 in the Holman-Howe Funeral Home of Seymour, with interment and full military honors in Seymour Masonic Cemetery.
Photos
Family
Parents
Siblings
- Maida Lorene Childress Curfman 1907–1977
- Lewis E Childress 1909–1998
- Roberta Childress Carr 1911–2002
- Ruby Mae Childress Hargus 1913–2012
- Wade B. Childress 1917–1981
- Herman Lee Childress 1920–2014
- Leota Maxine Childress Galien 1924–2009
Export GEDCOM
This person only · Entire connected family