Dennis Childs, Jr.

Dennis Asbury Childs Jr., 84, died Monday January 5, 2015 in Burlington, North Carolina, after battling a degenerative muscle disease for 10 years. Born on May 25, 1930 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Childs grew up there and later in Spartanburg, South Carolina. He graduated from Spartanburg High School in 1947 and earned a bachelor's degree in textile manufacturing from Clemson University in 1952. He met and married Frances Elizabeth Sargent of West Point, Georgia in 1951. The couple moved to West Point in 1952, where Childs joined his father-in-law, Jimmy A. Sargent, in the Quality Shoe Store in West Point. In 1954 the couple moved to Auburn, Alabama where Childs operated and later owned The Bootery, a quintessential family shoe store, for 43 years. During its operation, The Bootery was known as "Auburn's Most Complete Shoe Center," "Where Fit Comes First." Childs fit three generations of area families in shoes, earning a reputation for personal service and quality merchandise. Church community and service were especially important to him, beginning with his service as a young acolyte at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Chattanooga and later at Church of the Advent in Spartanburg. For more than 50 years, Childs was an active member of the Auburn United Methodist Church where he served in several leadership roles. After retiring, he was a member of Christ United Methodist Church in Chapel Hill and most recently the Gibsonville United Methodist Church in Gibsonville, North Carolina. Childs was also active in many civic and government organizations including the Auburn Zoning Board, Auburn Chamber of Commerce, and Auburn Rotary Club. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Frances Sargent Childs; sons, Michael Childs of Athens, Georgia and Scott Childs and his wife, Tresa, of Knoxville, Tennessee; three grandchildren, Christopher Childs, of Athens, Georgia, Daniel Childs and his wife, Kirsten, of Houston, Texas, and Caroline Childs, of Knoxville, Tennessee; two sisters, Marie Cooksey of St. Augustine, Florida, and Marian Goodman, of Hendersonville, North Carolina; and numerous nephews and nieces. Memorial services will be held Saturday, January 10, 2015 at 11:00 am at Twin Lakes' May-Foley Chapel in Burlington, North Carolina, and at the Auburn United Methodist Church in Auburn, Alabama, at a date and time to be announced. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Twin Lakes Employee Assistance Fund in Burlington, North Carolina, or the church or charity of your choice.