Obituary

Services for Mavis Vernell Childress, 81, of Abernathy, will be held at 11 a.m. Monday at First Assembly of God with Pastors Judy Wooten and Z. Grace Wooten officiating. Burial will follow in the Abernathy Cemetery under the direction of Abell Funeral Home and Flower Shop of Abernathy. The family will receive friends at Abell Funeral Home today from 4-5 p.m. Mrs. Childress died on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2009, in Plainview. She was born Nov. 7, 1927, in Paducah to Dowal Cisero and Mary Helen (Whitley) Parks. She married John Raymond "Ray" Childress on June 9, 1946, in Slaton. She was a longtime Abernathy resident where she was a member of the First Assembly of God. She also was a member of the Hub of the Plains Ex-Prisoners of War Association. Mrs. Childress was preceded in death by her husband. Survivors include a son, Jonnie Dowal Childress and wife Shannon of Ripley of W. Va.; two daughters, Anna Rigler and husband Kirk of Plainview and Dawn Burton and husband J. D. of Bryan; two grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and one sister, Bessie Porter of Boise, Idaho. The family suggests memorials be sent to First Assembly of God, P. O. Box 757, Abernathy, TX 79311; Abernathy EMS, 811 Ave. D, Abernathy, TX 79311; or to the American Diabetes Association.