Sandra Marian Childers

CHILDERS, Sandra Marian, died March 19, 2022, after putting up a good Appalachian fight against dementia. She was born in Matheny, W.Va., on January 31, 1946, the daughter of Clair Browning and Frances Bernice Osborne.

She is survived by her loving husband of 59 years, Douglas Lee Childers Sr.; their children, Douglas Lee Childers Jr. (Donna Frostick), Timothy Scott Childers and Jaime Michelle Babic (Zeljko Babic); their seven grandchildren, Marina Childers (Fin Nguyen), Kellan Childers and Sasha, Anastasija, Sofija, Lexi and Leonora Babic; and their great-granddaughter, Persephone Childers.

She is also survived by her sisters, Sharon Aliff, Carolyn Becker and Leisha Brotherton; and her brothers, Norman, Nolan and Raymond Browning. She was predeceased by her parents; and her brothers, Stephen and Gary Browning.

Sandra left West Virginia in 1966, and after stays in Colorado Springs and Washington, D.C., during her husband's active-duty service in the U.S. Army, she and her family settled down in Richmond, where she ran a small daycare business until her retirement.

She lived in Richmond for most of her life, but she never forgot where she came from. She loved gardening and interior design, but family and children – all children, but especially babies – were more important to her than anything else. Her extended family and Matheny occupied her final thoughts.

Everyone who met her felt her kindness and her abiding generosity. She will be missed and cherished.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider a donation to Children's Hospital of Richmond. As much as she loved flowers, Sandra would have appreciated your donation to such a good cause even more.

Her funeral service, to be held in Matheny, will be private. But a visitation for family and friends will be held April 1, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Bliley's Funeral Home at 8510 Staples Mill Road.

Online condolences may be left at blileys.com.