Kathleen Childress

Mrs. Kathleen Horne Childress, age 87, of Rowe, Virginia went to be with the Lord on Sunday morning (October 23, 2016) at her home. Born January 5, 1929 in Drill, Virginia, she was a daughter of the late Lawrence and Bernie Cook Horne. A lifelong resident of the area, she was a 1946 graduate of Garden High School. She began her career as a school teacher in 1947 at the Street School, where she worked for nineteen years, thirteen of which she served as Principal/Teacher prior to moving to Garden Elementary. She loved learning and pursued her education further, by taking night and summer classes through Pikeville College. She obtained a B.S. degree in Elementary Education in May 1965. In 1971, she assumed the role of Assistant Principal and in 1973 became the principal. Kathleen was initiated into the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International on December 7, 1974 and received her Master’s Degree from the University of Virginia in Elementary Administration in January 1976. She remained the Principal of Garden Elementary School until her retirement in 1985, having thirty-eight years of service to Buchanan County Public Schools. She was also a member of the Virginia Rebekah Aide Association. Kathleen married Ancil Childress on May 4, 1946. It was shortly after their marriage that the couple realized their need for salvation and were both saved at a revival in 1949. She served alongside her husband in ministry for over sixty years. She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in August 1985 and had battled declining health for the remainder of her days, yet her dedication and trust in the Lord never wavered during her lengthy illness. She was a true example of 1 Timothy 6:6, But godliness with contentment is great gain. She never complained about her inability to get out of bed, she simply found comfort and strength in knowing that she served a God that could take care of her. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband of sixty-seven years, Rev. Ancil Childress and one sister, Marie Cox. Survivors include three children, Ronald James Childress and wife, Bonnie of Compton Mountain, Virginia, Anna Ruth Belcher and husband, Donnie of Rowe, Virginia and Judy Naomi Street and husband, James of Grundy, Virginia; four grandchildren, Mark Belcher and wife, Elizabeth, Ashlee Cook and husband, Brad, Brittany Hale and husband, Brian and Elizabeth Street and fiancé, Josh Matney; great-granddaughter, Anna Kathryn Cook; one sister, Irene Coleman; sisters-in-law, Janis Hodock, Jackie Childress and Annette Childress; special caregivers, Juanita Jackson and Pat Baldwin; several nieces, nephews, extended family, neighbors and friends also survive. The family would like to extend a very special thank you to Beth Matney and the staff of Buchanan General Home Health. Funeral services will be conducted at 11 AM Tuesday at the Rowe Pentecostal Holiness Church with Pastors Brad and Ashlee Cook officiating. Interment will follow in the Greenhills Memory Gardens at Claypool Hill, Virginia. Relatives and friends will serve as pallbearers. Honorary pallbearers will be nephews, Michael Fletcher, Eddie Fletcher and members of Rowe Pentecostal Holiness Church. The family will receive friends at the church after 5 PM Monday, where a Delta Kappa Gamma Alpha XI memorial service will be conducted at 7:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to the Rowe Pentecostal Holiness Church; 2700 Breeden Branch Road, Rowe, Virginia 24646.Online condolences may be made to www.honakerfuneralhome.net.