By Neal Wooten
Hody Childress died on New Year’s Day but left behind a legacy of goodwill. By now, I’m sure most of you have seen the Good Morning America segment or read about him in the Washington Post and other media outlets. And for good reason. Most stories that dominate the media sphere today are very negative, so we need to be reminded, on occasion, that people are basically good.
An Air Force veteran and retired product manager for Lockheed Martin, Hody found solace on his tractor, giving away most of his produce to friends and neighbors. He grew up in a time of hardship from a generation of hardworking American grit. When his wife, Peggy, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and lost the ability to walk, Hody carried her.
I never witnessed this, but I can easily picture it. Hody was a big man, the kind of farmer I remember the mountain being filled with in my youth. He looked like he could carry a cow across the pasture. But it wasn’t the physical aspect of Peggy’s illness that weighed him down; it was the high cost of her medicine.
Maybe that’s what guided him after Peggy’s death when he walked into the pharmacy in Geraldine and handed the pharmacist a folded $100 bill. He told her to use it in case anyone was struggling to pay for their meds. The next month, he walked in again with a folded $100 bill. And the next. And for the next ten years until he died. As I said, he was a big man, but it turns out his biggest feature was his heart.
Over the course of a decade, people were often surprised and relieved to find their medicine paid for. Some would not have been able to afford their meds any other way. It spawned an entire movement. People who once needed help and were now in a better place began to pay it forward.
Before he died, Hody confided in his daughter, Tania, about his monthly donations. After his death, Tania struggled with whether to tell others. At the same time, the pharmacist was fighting the same battle and decided to share the story with his family. I’m glad they did. It needed to be told, not just to honor this unselfish man, but to remind us all of what we already know but often forget. Do unto others…
Hody’s legacy will live on in the Hody Childress Fund. More importantly, his actions will live on in our minds and in our hearts. I don’t know if there is a Hollywood actor big enough to fill his shoes, but if it’s made into a movie, I’m there on opening night.
