Larry W. Childers

Larry W. Childers, 72, from Pigeon Forge, Tennessee and formerly of Nebo, North Carolina, entered Heaven’s gates and into the arms of Jesus on Monday, May 22, 2017, at Tennova Select Specialty Hospital in Powell, Tennessee, following a brief illness. He was born in Havre de Grace, Maryland, to the late Rev. James K. Childers, Sr. and Anna Lee McMilan Childers, on January 21, 1945. Along with his parents, he is preceded in death by a brother, Harry Lee Childers.

Larry never met a stranger. He loved people, especially children. His contagious smile and laughter were evident by all who knew him. He worked at Old Fort Finishing and retired from Southern Devices (Leviton) in Morganton, North Carolina. Larry attended Gum Stand Baptist Church in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and was a former member of Trinity Hill Free Will Baptist Church in Nebo, North Carolina. He will be best remembered as the Chief of the McDowell County React for many years and an avid fan of Nascar, Tennessee Volunteers football, UNC Chapel Hill basketball, and fishing. Larry and his endless friends and family made memories at Elliott’s Diner in Nebo, golf cart parades at Riverbend Campground, riding the back roads of Sevier County, finding deals at yard sales, and eating at the best restaurants in Pigeon Forge, especially The Alamo and Mama’s Farm House.

Surviving are his wife of 48 years, Carolyn Isom Childers; brothers Rev. James K. Childers, Jr. (Charlotte), Donald H. Childers (Wanda), and Boyd E. Childers (Cami); numerous nieces and nephews that he adored; and two men that he thought of like sons, Mike Carter and Robert Greene.

Services for Larry Childers will be held at on Friday, May 26, at 2:00 for the receiving of friends and 3:00 for the funeral at Trinity Hill Free Will Baptist Church in Nebo, North Carolina. Interment will take place following the service at Murphy’s Chapel cemetery. A memorial service in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, will take place at Gum Stand Baptist Church at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made to Hospice of McDowell County, North Carolina and Gum Stand Baptist Church.