Services for the Rev. Donald Royce Childress, Sr., 89, of Wills Point, were held Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021, at First Baptist Church in Canton with the Rev. Ernie McCoulskey and Pastor Mike Roberson officiating. Interment was in Haven of Memories.

Bro. Don Childress passed away Oct. 22, 2021, in Kaufman. He was born June 20, 1932, in Dallas to Royal Eli and Effie Julia Lott Childress.

As a freshman at Texas Tech University, Don felt God’s certain call to vocational ministry. He transferred to Baylor University and began preparing himself. He chose to attend a smaller neighborhood church so he could be actively engaged in church work. It was there that he met Nita Hill, a young lady who would become his wife and ministry partner for the next 67 years.

In 1953, they planted the Oakwood Baptist Church in Waco while he was still a college student. After five years, they moved to the metroplex to attend Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth. He was soon called to be the pastor of the Buckner Terrace Baptist Church in Dallas. After seminary, they moved to Cedar Hill to raise their family and spend the next 28 years in ministry. The first eight years they served the First Baptist Church and then founded and pastored the Cedar Heights Baptist Church.

In 1991, he and Nita moved to Evansville, Indiana, and served with the Home Mission Board and the Indiana Baptist Convention as the Director of Missions for Southwest Indiana. In 1997, they retired and returned to Texas. He seemed to do everything in ministry well except retirement. He was soon pastoring the Red Oak Baptist Church near Kaufman. He tried retiring from there a few years later but before long was serving an extended interim pastorate in Martins Mill.

He tried retirement again only to follow the Lord’s leadership in 2005 to serve his home church, First Baptist Church of Canton, as its Senior Adult Minister until 2015, completing over 60 years of vocational church ministry. Many people reading this will reflect on the baptisms, weddings, funerals, visits, and relationships he was a part of that touched them personally. There is no way for us to measure the thousands of lives impacted through his ministry, but the Lord knows.

The Rev. Childress was preceded in death by his parents, Roy and Effie Childress, brother, Jerry Childress; two infant brothers, and sister-in-law, Mildred Childress.

Don is survived by his wife of 67 years, Nita Childress of Wills Point, two daughters and their husbands, Janie Childress Christy and Mike G. Christy of Wylie and Cathy Childress McCoulskey and the Rev. Ernie McCoulskey of Canton; two sons and their wives, Don Childress Jr. and Amy Adkins Childress of Forney and Greg W. Childress and Lynette Taylor Childress of Forney; 10 grandchildren, Jennifer and Joshua Duer, Jared Christy, Daniel and Jenny McCoulskey, Kelly and Carlos Clewell, Rachel and Matt Horne, Hayden Childress, Jonathan Childress, Sarah Childress, Colton and Lauren Childress, and Taylor Childress; 13 great-grandchildren, Natalie, Azaria, Nathan, Cody, Caleb, Collin, Grace, Timothy, Zach, Elijah, Aidan, Luka and Charlotte; brother, Bill and Nancy Childress of Wills Point; sister-in-law, Linda Childres of Cedar Hill and many loving nieces, nephews, and cousins. Pallbearers were Daniel McCoulskey, Jared Christy, Colton Childress, Hayden Childress, Jonathan Childress, Cody McCoulskey and Caleb McCoulskey.

Visitation was held, Monday, Oct. 26, at Eubank Funeral Home.