Annette Childress

November 8, 1946 - May 4, 2022

On May 4, 2022, Annette Childress, 75, took her last breath on earth and with joy and awe entered into the holy presence of her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. She was a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, teacher, and friend. Annette was born on November 8, 1946, in San Marcos, Texas, to Velma and Joe Clutter. She enjoyed a simple but fun childhood in Clarksville, Texas, with her younger brother, Joe Jr., and spent many hours “playing school” with her dolls. After graduating from Clarksville High School in 1965, Annette pursued her dream of becoming a teacher, receiving a degree in elementary education, a master’s degree in early childhood education, and certification in library science. Annette was a wonderful teacher. She used her creativity to make learning fun, exciting, and meaningful. One of the most rewarding parts of her 30 years of teaching was to have several of her former kindergarten students tell her that she was the reason they chose to become teachers. In 1979 Annette married Mike Childress, who was truly the love of her life and her best friend. They spent forty wonderful years together and referred to their marriage as a match made in Heaven. They were blessed with a great son, Casey, precious granddaughter, Jayde, and a life filled with happy memories. Mike and Annette loved to travel. Their favorite trips were to New England to see the glorious fall foliage--Heaven on earth! After retirement Annette started a hospital clown program for children at Good Shepherd Medical Center. She wore funny costumes and used puppets, clown tricks, balloon animals, and painting with watercolors to brighten the lives of the pediatric patients during their stay at the hospital. The children smiled as they painted away their pain! Pets and her pet therapy ministry, Puppy Love, were also close to her heart. Annette loved her dogs and trained them to do a 40-minute program of nonstop tricks. With her husband’s faithful help, they delighted hundreds of residents at nursing homes, retirement centers, and adult day care centers with tricks such as adding and subtracting, playing basketball, bowling, and playing the piano and singing. Serving God through her church was a priority with Annette throughout her life but her most important gift was teaching children. For over 30 years Annette and Mike taught children in Sunday School. It was especially rewarding to be able to teach I Am Special! I Am a New Christian!, a fun, hands-on curriculum Annette wrote to help children who had just invited Jesus into their hearts and lives. Hundreds of children at Mobberly Baptist Church learned how to grow as a Christian with this God inspired curriculum. In 2009, Annette and her husband, Mike, were prompted by God to write and illustrate a coloring book on how to go to Heaven and in 2013 completed a second coloring book on the life of Jesus. Through their ministry, Reaching Kids 4 Christ, the books were translated into 8 languages, and over 265,000 books have helped reach children in 38 countries for Christ. It was thrilling for Annette and Mike to watch how God used simple coloring books to make an eternal difference in lives around the world. Reaching Kids 4 Christ is now a nonprofit corporation 501 (C) 3 so that the ministry can continue even after Mike and Annette’s deaths. A Celebration of Life Service will be held at Rader Funeral Home at 2:00 pm on Monday, May 23, with Dr. Gregg Zackary officiating. Visitation will be held from 4pm-6pm on Sunday, May 22, at Rader Funeral Home. Private graveside will follow at Lakeview Cemetery in Longview. Memorials may be made to Reaching Kids 4 Christ, 1204 Daffodil Lane, Longview, TX 75604