Almost three years past his death, Hody Childress is still helping his neighbors

He’s been gone almost three years now. He died on Jan. 1, 2023, with a balance sheet $15,000 smaller than it was 10 years prior. But he died so much richer for the kind gestures made once a month for over a decade. And though he’s been gone a while now, those gestures started a movement that continues to this day. The elderly woman approached the drive-through window at Geraldine Drugs in the small town of Geraldine, Alabama. It was months ago, and pharmacist Brooke Walker handed the woman her medicine. “I can tell when someone in our small hometown might be struggling with high prescription prices,” Brooke told me. The woman’s eyes grew wide as she saw the price of the drug. “Don’t worry,” said Brooke. “Hody’s got this.” The woman broke down in tears. It’s a town of a thousand people that sits atop North Sand Mountain in northeast Alabama. Hardworking folks, from farmers to teachers, make their neighbors in Geraldine proud. What they might lack in riches they are blessed with in love. They look out for one another, in good times and in bad. Hody Childress knew a thing or two about hard work. For years, he worked at Lockheed Martin, but his true calling was farming. Hody raised crops and cattle, and he had a few pigs here and there. Hody and Peggy had 3 children, Doug and Tania and Butch. Hody Childress also knew a thing or two about sorrow. It was May 8, 1973, when the tornado blew through Geraldine. “I remember we were at our grandparent’s house,” said Hody’s daughter, Tania. “I was 9 years old, and my younger brother we called ‘Butch’ was 7. I remember it like it was a movie. The tornado touched down and killed my grandfather. I ran to my mother and father who were weeping over my brother, who was on a stretcher.” Seven-year-old Butch Childress was gone. Hody and Peggy Childress forged on after losing Hody Jr. Their two remaining children grew and raised families of their own. Peggy fought multiple sclerosis the best she could, but she died in 1999 at the age of 55 after Hody became the best caretaker ever. “My father was always the picture of kindness,” said Tania. “He cared for his parents before they died. He cared for my mother as well.” It was 2012 when then-28-year-old pharmacist Brooke Walker looked up from behind the counter at Geraldine Drugs. There stood 66-year-old Hody Childress, and he had a question. “Do you ever see customers that can’t afford their medicine?” Hody asked. “Yes, sir, I do,” responded Brooke. “I want you to have this,” said Hody, as he handed Brooke a wad of cash. “Don’t tell anyone where it came from.” And Hody walked out the door. Brooke Walker smiled and counted the money. A hundred dollars. She put it in a jar and went back to work. A month went by, and Brooke looked up from the counter to see the familiar face. “Hello,” said Hody Childress. “You know what to do with this. Don’t tell anyone where it came from.” Another smile from Brooke, another $100, and another exit from Hody. A pattern had developed. A gesture the world never knew about that would go on for 10 years. Brooke Walker never told a soul about the man who delivered $100 or more once a month for a decade. But as Hody requested, Brooke would often dip into her jar when one of her customers found themselves in a pinch. “Our customers are stretched thin during the first few months of the year when they have to meet their insurance deductibles,” Brooke told me. “Many times down through the years, our customers will tell us they don’t have the money.” Those were the times Brooke reached into the jar and helped give some relief to the locals. As the years came and went, Hody Childress and Brooke Walker grew close. They would talk about family and faith. In his later years, Brooke would tell Hody about her husband doing some work in the ministry, and about her deaf daughter, Navee, who had been adopted from India. And month after month, Hody would walk into the pharmacy and tell Brooke, “You know what to do with this. Don’t tell anyone about it.” For years, Tania and her brother Doug had no idea about their father’s gestures, because aside from a few co-workers, Brooke kept it a secret. In the fall of 2022, Hody’s health was failing. He needed help making his monthly $100 delivery. “My father was dying,” Tania told me. “I was with him one day and he said, ‘For as long as I’m alive, I want to keep doing something I have done for a while. “’Go find Brooke Walker. She will know what this is about.’” The New Year brought the passing of 80-year-old Hody Childress. “Family members gathered at the funeral home to console one another,” Tania told me. “My first cousin went to Brooke to ask about donating because we didn’t know much about it. That was when Brooke decided to tell us. We had no idea my father was donating money for years.” Hody’s family wasn’t surprised by the news. “My father used to send cards to the elderly and put a $100 bill inside,” said Tania. “He would take checks to church and to a local children’s fund.” The kind man with a modest income and a simple pension helped hundreds of his neighbors before going to Heaven. Hody Childress was buried at Geraldine Cemetery. It ironically is behind Geraldine Drugs, only a few hundred yards from where he changed so many lives. As word leaked out, the world fell in love with Hody. Hundreds of cards and letters began arriving at Geraldine Drugs from around the country, many with $100 bills inside. They came from New York, Michigan and Idaho. One little girl sent 5 bucks. The story of Hody’s Heart spread around the world. Brooke Walker and Tania Childress Nix did their best to write thank you notes to those sending in money, still gratefully using it to help customers with the cost of prescriptions. And while Hody’s $100 bills were no longer coming in, the cards and letters from around the country made up for the lost revenue. Today, the annual amount being donated to Geraldine Drugs is about the same annual amount as when Hody was alive. “Hody’s got this,” Brooke says to customers when the money gets tight. Tania Nix is now 61 years old and she is no stranger to loss. Hody remarried after he lost Peggy, and Tania’s stepmother, Martha Jo, passed in July of 2023. Her brother, Doug, passed away at the age of 53 on May 31 of last year. It was the latest in a series of setbacks in Tania’s life. She lost her 7-year-old brother in the 1973 tornado, her mom in 1999 and her dad on New Year’s Day of 2023. Yet Tania will forever be blessed knowing the gesture made by her father turned into a movement. “If ever a saint walked this earth, it was my father,” said Tania, who plans to retire from her hairdresser’s job next spring. “I want to make a difference when I retire,” added Tania. “I want to become more involved in my church and volunteer to help people. My father set the bar on being kind. Showing kindness is the legacy everyone wants.” Brooke Walker will be back at work tomorrow, serving the town folks as a picture of Hody Childress hangs on the back wall of the pharmacy. And as Thanksgiving week has arrived, Brooke is happy to thank her customers. More stories by Rick Karle Dinos, ducks and lollipops: Two children fighting cancer shared love and bonded families He’s keeping memories of WWII veterans alive, even as they leave us in great numbers Fatherhood, loss and love: Catching up with one of Alabama’s greatest running backs A wreck irrevocably changed her life. Despite that, she brightens other lives every day. 24 years ago, a single mother adopted an abandoned baby. Now look how far they’ve come. “A simple gesture has helped the morale in our town so much,” Brooke told me. And as the Hody Childress Fund continues three years after Hody’s passing, Brooke will smile as she remembers Hody saying, “You know what do to with this.” Brooke knows what to do with it, alright. She will greet her customers with a smile and utter her favorite five words: “Don’t worry, Hody’s got this.”.
https://www.al.com/life/2025/11/almost-three-years-past-his-death-hody-childress-is-still-helping-his-neighbors.html