Alabama man secretly helped pay for neighbors' medicine for nearly a decade

GERALDINE, Ala. (WLS) -- There is gratitude in a small Alabama town for a man who became his neighbors' secret guardian angel.

Hody Childress was an Air Force veteran and a farmer in Garaldine, Ala., known for his humility and kindness. But what people didn't realize was that for nearly a decade he also donated $100 a month to the local pharmacy to help neighbors in need when they couldn't afford their own medicine.

"He handed me a bill and it was folded up. I couldn't see what it was. He just said, the next time that happens, I want you to use this to help them out and I want it to be anonymous," said Brooke Walker, owner of Geraldine Drugs. "I don't want to know who you use it for, and I don't want them to know my name. I just want you to tell them that this is a blessing from God."

Walker, who is also the pharmacist, saw firsthand how Childress' generosity helped many people before he died on New Year's Day at 80 years old.

He almost took his secret with him, too, only revealing it to his children shortly before he died.

"It wasn't surprising. There was more to daddy than this one story, he done a lot for everybody," said his son Doug.

"It's made us want to carry on what he's been doing," said his daughter Tania.

His children said the way their father lived made them want to be better people.