Thomas Andrew “Tom” Childress, 87

Published 1:32 pm Tuesday, May 27, 2025

Thomas Andrew “Tom” Childress, 87, of Danville, passed away Sunday, March 9, 2025. He was born September 6, 1937 in Bedford, Indiana to the late Thomas and Mary Weyer Childress. He graduated from Bedford High School in 1956 and from Indiana University at Bloomington, Indiana in 1961 with a degree in business administration. He then joined the U.S. Army and served four years on active duty. He was stationed in Korea for part of that time.
Tom worked as a carpenter in Bedford and later was employed by General Electric Company, where he worked for twenty years before retiring from the GE Transportation plant in Grove City, Pennsylvania. Following his career at GE, he became a Dairy Queen franchisee in Oak Grove, Kentucky.
Tom was active in the community and was a member of Centenary Methodist Church of Danville. He was a past member and deacon of the Presbyterian church and also volunteered for Habitat for Humanity as well as the Soup’s On Us food ministry. An avid outdoorsman, he loved fishing, gardening, tending to his lawn and enjoying time outside on the deck. Tom loved animals as well, observing them in nature and caring for many pets over the years. When not outdoors, he enjoyed cooking and spending time with family and friends.
Tom was preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Judy Tobin Childress of Danville; son, David (Kathy) and grandson, Gavin of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania; sister, Mary Beth Hoerling of Sun City, Arizona; nephew, John (Beth) Knapp of Evansville, Indiana; nieces, Laura Shrader of South Bend, Indiana and Martha (Lee) Gentry of Harrodsburg, Kentucky; and great-nephew, Sam Gentry of Detroit, Michigan.
Visitation is from 12:00 noon to 2:00 pm on Monday, June 16 at the chapel at Centenary Methodist Church in Danville, followed immediately by the funeral service, with Pastor Chris Morgan officiating. A private graveside service will be held at Spring Hill Cemetery in Harrodsburg.
Memorial contributions are suggested to Habitat for Humanity or Centenary Methodist Church.
Alexander & Royalty Funeral Home, Inc. and Cremation Services in charge of arrangements.