JAMES CHILDERS

James Ernest Childers, 83, of Maryland Heights, died Tuesday, March 30, 1999, at NHC Healthcare in Maryland Heights.

He was born May 17, 1915, in Olive Branch, Ill., son of William David and Ava Icafeen Stevenson Childers. He married Thelma Pauline Hutchison, who died July 13, 1963.

Childers lived in Cape Girardeau from the mid-1940s to the mid-1980s. He was a neon sign glass blower at Preston Neon Sign Co., then was self-employed, and later worked at General Sign Co.

He also had been a construction electrician, having worked at Procter & Gamble and at Noranda Aluminum in New Madrid.

Childers was a member of IBEW and NEBF Union Locals, and former member of Centenary United Methodist Church.

He had lived in Fulton and the St. Louis area since leaving Cape Girardeau. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1935-41, and in the U.S. Army from 1942-45.

Survivors include two sons, David Childers of Maryland Heights, Larry Childers of Cape Girardeau; three grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by a son, a brother, and a sister.

Funeral will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at Ford and Sons Mt. Auburn Chapel. The Rev. Clayton Smith will officiate. Burial will be in Memorial Park, with graveside rites by VFW Post 3838.

Friends may call at the funeral home Thursday from noon until service time.