Alabama farmer spent decade paying for town's pharmacy bills

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A humble and quiet man, Hody Childress, from Geraldine, Alabama, was set to rest earlier this month. During his funeral, it was revealed that for a decade, this man was an angel in disguise for the town's poor and sick.

A farmer Childress began his initiative when he visited the local Geraldine drugstore and learned that many of the town’s 900 residents couldn’t afford to pay for their prescriptions.

His life wasn't all that easy. He had health problems, lost his son in 1973, and his first wife in 1999 - whom he used to carry into the stands for football games due to her multiple sclerosis. 

His charity started with a $100 bill upon hearing his neighbors' inability to afford their medications.  “Here, this $100 is for anyone who can’t afford their prescription,” Brooke Walker, owner of the drug store, recalled in an interview with local news.

“Do not tell a soul that the money came from me, tell them it’s a blessing from God.”

A month later, Walker saw Childress again walking into her store to hand over another $100 bill, with the exact same instructions—"do not tell a soul that the money came from me, tell them it’s a blessing from God."

He returned to the pharmacy every month with the same instructions, until his feet couldn't hold him anymore. Childress decided to enlist someone for help, so he entrusted his daughter, Tania Nix. 

“I was shocked – I had no idea that he was helping people at the drugstore,” according to his daughter. 

At his funeral on January 5th, 2023, Nix told the story of Childress’ decade of giving, and how it was able to cover the cost of expensive medications for two Geraldine residents per month.

The word got out that they had an angel in their midst, and WVTM reports that the townspeople have agreed to carry on his legacy.

"There are so many people in Geraldine who have lived longer because of Hody," pharmacist Heather Walker said. “Hody was a true humble servant who will always be loved.”