Leonard Ray Childress

Mr. Leonard Ray Childress, age 81, of Ararat, NC is now in the presence of his Lord and Savior.  He passed away peacefully at his residence on Sunday evening, December 30, 2018 surrounded by his loving family.  He was born in Surry County on July 6, 1937 to the late Grover Haston Childress and the late Flora Bell Bledsoe Childress.  Mr. Childress served in the US Army and was retired from Wayne Farms Hatchery in Elkin.  He enjoyed gardening, raising all types of fruits and vegetables to share with family and friends.  His hobbies were working with bee hives and making honey and raising a variety of pure breed chickens.  He liked family picnics, going to the mountains, hunting, fishing and spending time with his wife, children and grandchildren who were so precious to him.  Those left to cherish his memory are his wife, Ella Louise Poindexter Childress; son and daughter-in-law, Kent and Cindy Childress; daughters and son-in-law, Gaye Cooke, Susan Childress, Lisa and Andy Pate; grandchildren, Shannon and Ryan Whitt, Brittany and John McBride, Courtney and Levi Slate, Tyler Pate, Jamison Pate; great-grandchildren, Haston Cooke, Harrison Cooke, Kylee Childress, Ezra Whitt, Weston McBride; sister, Madelene Holbrook; brother, Clayton Childress and several nieces and nephews.  Funeral services will be Wednesday, January 2, 2019, at 2:00 pm Friendly Chapel Baptist Church in Pilot Mtn., with Brother Don Collins and Brother Ryan Whitt officiating.  The family will receive friends prior to the service beginning at 1:00 pm.  Burial will be in the Pine Hill Friends Meeting Cemetery.  The family would like to extend a special thanks to Clyde Johnson, Tommy Mears, Garland and Marilyn Johnson for their love and support during this time.