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In the small town of Geraldine, Alabama, farmer Hody Childress was a man known for his humility and kindness.
But not many people knew the full extent of his generosity.
That is, until he passed away on Jan. 1, 2023. That's when neighbors learned that Childress, an Air Force veteran, secretly had been paying the pharmacy bills for folks who could not afford the cost of their prescriptions.
"Everybody knew him, but Hody wasn’t someone who came in and wanted everyone to know he was there," Brooke Walker, pharmacist and co-owner of Geraldine Drugs, told Fox News Digital.
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"He’d make peanut brittle for my staff and drop it off," said Walker.
"Or he’d bring us tomatoes or apples from his tree and say, ‘Hey, I was just thinking about you guys.’ This is a small town — and we’re like each other's family."
Hody Childress of Geraldine, Alabama, poses in a suit and tie. (Ashley Sargent Photography)
One day about 10 years ago, Childress brought something else besides food into Geraldine Drugs: a folded-up $100 bill.
Walker said Childress asked her to use the money to help anyone in town who could not pay for the medications they needed — and he asked her not to tell a soul.
For one decade, Childress delivered $100 to Walker on the first of every month.
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"When he first approached me, I thought it was a one-time thing and never did I anticipate it continuing on and on," Walker said.
Hody Childress (center) is photographed with his daughter Tania Nix (left) and her husband Ronald Nix (right). (Tania Nix)
"He just handed it to me very quietly," Walker added.
"People could be in [the drugstore] and not realize what he had done because he would just kind of slide it to me, folded up where you couldn't even really see what it was. The best part of Hody is that he wanted no credit."
The community's need for help, Walker said, was great.
"There were situations where someone’s child was sick and they were going to have to wait until Friday to get the medicine or not get it at all," Walker said.
Walker said she also served elderly patients with cardiac issues who did not have insurance policies, and a mother who had insurance but still could not afford the EpiPen her child desperately needed.
In all of these situations, she was able to help because of the generosity of Hody Childress.
Seen here is the storefront (left) and the inside of Geraldine Drugs in Geraldine, Alabama, where Hody Childress donated $100 per month to put toward other customers' pharmacy bills. (Geraldine Drugs)
Walker estimates that Childress contributed about $10,000 to pay for other people's pharmacy bills.
"Sometimes I felt like, ‘Oh my goodness, this is a lot of pressure,’" Walker said.
"But I tried to pay attention when someone would come in and ask for a price on their medication — and then I could just tell by the way they reacted that it was going to be difficult for them," she added. "Or sometimes they would even say, ‘OK, I'm not going to be able to get that today, but maybe I can come back Friday when I get paid.'"
Walked added, "I would just try to key into the individuals who needed it."
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Walker said Childress never missed a month in contributions and that the fund contributed to grow.
"The best part of Hody is that he wanted no credit."
But Childress suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) — and in the last few months of his life, he was unable to leave his home to make his $100 delivery to the pharmacy.
So, he confided in his daughter, Tania Nix, and leaned on her for help.
"It got to where he couldn’t leave the house, so I was staying with him and going to the grocery store and running errands for him," said Nix, who is a hair stylist in nearby Ider, Alabama.
Four generations of one family: Hody Childress (center) poses with his daughter Tania Nix (right), his grandson Eric Hody Nix (left) and his great-grandson Bryson Nix (center, held by Hody Childress) in 2022. (Tania Nix)
"One day he told me, ‘I’ve been doing something for a while and I would like to continue to do it as long as I'm alive.’"
Childress told his daughter about his private mission and asked her to bring the customary $100 to Walker at the pharmacy — and not to tell anyone about it.
"He told me, ‘I give Brooke the liberty to choose how to spend that to help someone and just to tell them it's a gift from the Lord,’" Nix said.
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After Childress died and Nix was preparing for her dad’s service, she decided she wanted people to know about his kindness.
"I had no clue [of] the depth of the story or the magnitude. I had no clue it was almost 10 years. He had never mentioned this to us."
So, a family member reached out to Walker — and that opened the door for telling his story, Nix said.
"I was having to make the decision of whether or not I was going to tell this secret," Walker said. "And that worked itself out."
Nix said she and Walker compared notes about her dad’s gift, how many people he had helped and how long his act of generosity and thoughtfulness had been going on.
"I was in amazement," Nix said.
"I had no clue [of] the depth of the story or the magnitude. I had no clue it was almost 10 years. He had never mentioned this to us."
Hody Childress with his wife, Martha Jo Childress. Hody Childress died at age 80 on Sunday, Jan. 1, 2023. He is survived by his wife, two children, three stepchildren, 15 grandchildren and 24 great-grandchildren. (Ashley Sargent Photography)
And that’s exactly how Childress wanted it.
"I heard someone say the Hody way was to give and tell no one," Walker said.
"I just thought that was incredible to care about somebody that you've never met or that you don't know and be able to give them something and get nothing in return, not even a thank you," she said. "All he needed was to know in his heart that he did the right thing. That he cared for somebody. And I think that's spreading across the nation."
Walker said she has taken calls from people around the country who now want to continue the "Hody Childress fund."
Co-owner of Geraldine Drugs, Brooke Walker (second from left), poses with her family at Christmas. For a full decade, Walker was helping Hody Childress, a veteran, use his own money to help neighbors pay their pharmacy bills. Childress didn't want anyone to know about it. (Ashley Sargent Photography)
"I spoke to a gentleman last night from Washington state, and he wanted to give me a year's worth of donations in Hody’s name," Walker said.
"He's from Washington, and we're in Alabama. No one will know him. He will not know who benefited — but in his heart, he loves people and he wants to help anyone to carry on Hody’s legacy," she added.
Walker said someone else called from Miami to ask if he could contribute.
"There's still good in the world."
When she told this person that she had received a lot of phone calls, he replied, "If that fund ever gets to zero, I want you to call me. But if it's all the same to you, I'm just going to go my local pharmacy and start my own Hody Childress fund."
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"In our town, we love each other and we take care of each other," Walker said, "and there are people here who need help and Hody took care of them."
Hody Childress asked his daughter, Tania Nix, to carry out his charitable tradition of delivering a $100 bill once a month to the local drugstore to help out neighbors in need. Childress did this for a decade. (Ashley Sargent Photography/Geraldine Drugs)
"But there are people all over America who need help," she added.
"If everybody heard his story and thought, ‘Let me go to my pharmacy or think of a way that I can help somebody in my town,’ that just could be contagious."
Nix said she hopes it catches on.
"I would love for it to be a ripple effect," Nix said.
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"There's still good in the world," Nix added.
"There are people who are wanting to reach out and help total strangers — just giving them that hope and that sense of feeling loved."
