Alabama farmer paid for townspeople's prescriptions anonomously for years trends now
An Alabama farmer spent some of the little money that he had to help members of his community to pay for their medical bills.
Not even Hody Childress's family members knew about his generosity until shortly before his death at the age of 80 on January 1.
The revelation about his acts was first revealed to many at his January 5 funeral, after the town's pharmacist told family members.
Childress's daughter Tania Nix told The Washington Post that she didn't know what prompted her father to go to Geraldine Drugs in Geraldine, Alabama, a town of around 900, each month and give $100 to the pharmacist to help those struggling.
Nix did speculate that when her mother struggled with multiple sclerosis, her medical bills and drugs were expensive. Her mother, Peggy, passed away in 1999. He began his altruistic tradition in 2012.
Tania Nix pictured with her late-father Hody Childress, Nix says she had no idea about his generous deeds until shortly before his death
This is Geraldine Drugs in the town of Geraldine, Alabama, where Childress would go each month to donate $100 to those in need
Nix said that a woman recently wrote to her to tell her that Childress's money allowed her to afford an EpiPen for her son, while another said that she burst into tears in the store when she was told that there was a fund that would help her to pay for her and her daughter's prescription.
The pharmacist at the drug store, Brooke Walker said that Childress told her when he first handed over the money: 'Don't tell a soul where the money came from - if they ask, just tell them it's a blessing from the lord.'
At Geraldine Drugs, Walker works as the pharmacist and manager. In a separate interview with WVTM, she said: 'Each and every month, year after year, he would walk into the drug store and hand me 100 dollars.'
The pharmacist continued: 'I kept my word of not telling anyone, even the family. Eventually, I did start taking a little money here, a little money there, just to help people who were struggling.' She went on to describe him as 'kind' and 'humble.'
Walker went so far as to tell the station that there were people in Geraldine who lived longer because of Childress's acts.
On Facebook, Walker posted the Washington Post story about Childress and wrote: 'Goodness - I can't imagine Hody would be thinking about all of this publicity.'
Childress was an Air Force veteran who later went to work as a product manager for Lockheed Martin
Childress's tractor, which his daughter described as being a therapy device for him, bares his name
Nix told WaPo that her father told about his donations as he became gravely ill with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease over the holidays
Childress's first wife, Peggy, died in 1999, here he is pictured with his second wife, Martha Jo, who passed away in 2022
The pharmacist told a family member that she didn't let Childress's donation go on painkillers, only antibiotics and life-sustaining medication.
