Aubrey Meeks Childress

Aubrey Meeks Childress, 89, died on May 13, 2016 at Bell Minor Nursing Home in Gainesville, Georgia. Born in Little Rock, Arkansas to Daisy and Earnest Childress, he was one of 4 children. After serving in the Korean War, he married Maxine Perkins of Memphis, Tennessee. After settling in Springdale, Arkansas, Aubrey and Maxine adopted two children and started a business running a gas station franchise with the Skelly Oil Company. During those years as the children were young, he and his family gained a regional reputation for decorating their home during Christmas holidays where he was known to dress as Santa Claus and pass out candy to children. After Skelly Oil was acquired by Getty, Aubrey and his family moved to Florida where he started a landscaping business. In his later years, he and his wife moved to Cleveland, Georgia. He is survived by his son, Kevin; his daughter, Renee; his grandchildren, Tony, Lisa, Barbara, and Cory Groover; 8 great grandchildren; and his brother, Andrew. His ashes will be interred next to his wife’s at Mt. Zion Cemetery in Independence, Mississippi at a later date to be determined.