Mildred (Smith) Childs

Funeral service for Mildred B. Childs, 101, formerly of Nacogdoches, will be held at 2:00pm on Saturday, July 18, 2026 at Laird Funeral Home with Bro. Kendall McDonald officiating. Interment will follow at 4:00pm at County Line Cemetery in Rusk County.  Visitation will be held prior to the service beginning at 1:00pm.

Mildred, a daughter in Christ her Savior, peacefully passed away surrounded by family on July 13, 2026.  She was born in Huntsville, Texas to Minnie Lee and William Henry Smith. 

One of nine children, Mildred enjoyed playing with her siblings and cousins that lived very close by.  Mildred was raised in church.  Baptized on July 4, 1935, she enjoyed a long walk with her Lord.  Church was a constant in her life. 

Mildred graduated from Huntsville High School in 1942 and on May 20, 1944 she married Earl Edward Childs.  Earl proudly served our country in the United States Air Force as a gunner during WW2 and was stationed in Florence, South Carolina where Mildred enjoyed her new role as Mrs. Earl Childs.

In December of 1945 Mildred and Earl welcomed their son Johnnie Edward Childs, Sr. into their family.  In 1950, Johnnie was joined by his little sister Carolyn Lynn Childs.  Mildred and Earl, while working hard, provided a wonderful home in Pasadena, Texas.  Being close to family, they were able to enjoy trips to both Huntsville and Earl’s hometown of Timpson to visit their parents and grandparents.

Mildred was a wonderful hostess and cook.  She was known for her cookies and apple cakes that she baked and shared with her church family, nieces, nephews and great nieces and nephews.  She found great joy in being called “The cookie grandmother”.  Each year during the holidays or if you were going on a trip, you could count on Mildred’s peanut butter, chocolate chip or ranger cookies.

Johnnie Sr. met and married Martha Pearsley.  Martha and Johnnie made Mildred and Earl proud grandparents with the birth of their sons Johnnie Jr. and Gary. 

Their daughter Carolyn met and married her beloved husband Curtis Rose.  A few years after their marriage, they lost Carolyn to Hodgkins Lymphoma.  Mildred and Earl relied on their strong faith to see them through this tragedy. Their great grandson Johnathon completed the family.

In 1993, after their retirement,  Mildred and Earl moved to Nacogdoches.  They enjoyed being close to their son and his family and often took Johnnie Jr. and/or Gary on their trips around the United States where they visited 49 of the 50 states.  The couple loved to travel and would find a church wherever they found themselves on Sundays to worship.  Mildred and Earl loved spending time with her family and their church family.

After a long and happy 60-year marriage, Mildred lost Earl in 2004.  Tragically Mildred lost her grandson Gary in 2008, her grandson Johnnie Jr. in 2009 and her beloved son, Johnnie Sr. in 2017.

Mildred relied on her faith to keep going, welcoming her great-great grandsons and later a great great-granddaughter who all brought joy to her life.

Mildred lived a long and faithful life; she was taught by her parents to rely on God and work hard to achieve what she desired.  Mildred was an inspiration in life and in death.

She is survived by her daughter-in-law Martha Childs; great grandson Jonathan Childs & wife Chelsey; great great-grandchildren, Emerson Childs, Koe Childs, Roper Childs, Tuff Craig and Tripp Craig; brother Norman Smith & wife Mary; son-in-law Curtis Rose & wife Darlene and numerous nieces and nephews that she held dear.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Earl Childs; children, Carolyn Rose and Johnnie Childs, Sr.; grandsons, Gary Childs and Johnnie Childs, Jr.; parents, Minnie Lee Smith and William Henry Smith and siblings Sammy Robison & husband Dave, Angie Ferguson & husband Bob, Henry Allen Smith & wife Dolores, Wilburn Gabe Smith & wife Doris Faye, Gail Yingling & husband Ken, Mary Frances Brasfield & husband Earnest and Linda Jean Wilborn & husband C.B.

The family would like to thank the amazing teams of caregivers, including Willie Parker for the care and friendship she bestowed upon Mildred while living in Nacogdoches; Caring Hands in Porter, Texas for the wonderful kindness shown to Mildred (she loved the residents she lived with and the owners Cornel and Julia) and Bayou City Hospice and her nurse Camille who gave such special care during the past months and especially her final days.

Serving as pallbearers are Jonathon Childs, Curtis Rose, Robbie Smith, Howard Harrison, Jake Harrison and Bill Plunkett.

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