Frederic D. Childs

Frederic D. Childs passed from this world at the age of 76 and entered the Kingdom of God on Monday, December 30, 2024. Fred was born October 30, 1948, in the small southeastern rural Appalachian town of Manchester, Clay County, Kentucky to William Selbert Childs (1914-1976) of Bagdad, KY and Billie Lee Wilburn Childs (1923-1993) of Mineola, KS. 

He was graduated from Stephen Watts Kearny Senior High School, San Diego, CA in 1966 and later in 1970 from San Diego State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish Literature. He also earned a Master of Arts degree in Spanish Literature from the University of Houston, 1977, and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Kansas, 1980.

Fred was a Vietnam War-era veteran who honorably served his country in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1971 to 1975 as a First Lieutenant and Tank Officer in the 1st and 3rd Tank Battalions; his duty stations included the Marine Corps Development and Education Command, Quantico, VA; First Marine Division, Camp Pendleton, CA; Naval Weapons Station, Concord, CA; and an overseas Fleet Marine Force tour of duty with the Third Marine Division in the Far East, at Camp Hansen on the island of Okinawa, and also at Mt. Fiji, Japan.

After completing his military service, Fred, with his wife and young family, moved to Houston, TX to live. Fred worked most of his life in the public sector, first as Public Works Director of the City of Bellaire, and later as a Senior Project Manager within the General Mobility Division of the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, where he worked from 1986 to 2014, when he retired. He pursued his love of education and enjoyed teaching Spanish language classes part-time at Houston Community College.

Fred was happily married for fifty-three wonderful years to the former Ilda Juarez Rojas, his surviving wife, whom he married in 1971 in Mexico City, Mexico. He truly believed her to be the Wind beneath his Wings and the Inspiration who led him to all life’s beauties and joys. Two other endearing and heartfelt treasures who filled his soul with immense pride and happiness are his surviving son, Mario Kenneth Childs of Klein, TX, and his daughter, Gianina Childs Dixon of Houston, TX. Other surviving family members include Mario’s wife Allison Ford, Gianina’s husband Duane Dixon; grandsons Angus James Childs, Ian Dalton Childs and Benjamin Frederic Dixon. Fred’s two older brothers and one younger sister, and their spouses and children: William Clemens Childs and his wife Virginia of Christmas Bay, OR; Rodger Franklin Childs and his wife Elizabeth of Bandera, TX; and Laura Leigh Childs and her husband Brad Martisius of Denver, CO. Fred is also survived by numerous nephews and nieces, as well as many cousins in the Kentucky and Indiana area.

The family will receive friends between 5:00 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Thursday, January 2, 2025 at Earthman Funeral Home, 4525 Bissonnet St., Bellaire, TX. Rosary at 6:00 p.m. Mass will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, January 3 at Holy Ghost Church, 6921 Chetwood Dr., Houston, TX Interment will be at 1:15 p.m. at Houston National Cemetery, 10410 Veterans Memorial Dr., Houston, TX.