Alabama farmer secretly paid strangers’ medicine bills for a decade before his death

Hody Childress, an Alabama farmer and US Air Force veteran, spent nearly a decade quietly helping people who could not afford their prescription medicines. Living on retirement income, Childress gave $100 every month to a local pharmacy in Geraldine, Alabama, asking the pharmacist to use the money to help struggling customers. He insisted that his identity remain a secret and did not want to know who received the assistance. His generosity continued for years, helping people facing difficult choices over the cost of essential medicines. When Childress died on January 1, 2023, aged 80, his family and the wider community learnt about his quiet acts of kindness. The revelation prompted residents to continue the work he had carried out anonymously for so long.Alabama farmer secretly paid $100 a month for strangers’ medicinesChildress began his monthly donations around 2012 after approaching Brooke Walker, the owner of Geraldine Drugs, to ask whether people in the community struggled to pay for their prescriptions. When Walker confirmed that some customers could not afford their medicines, Childress handed her a folded $100 bill and asked her to use it to help someone in need.He returne...