Jack Childress
April 25, 1926 - December 16, 2015
Here in Moses Lake, the amazing life of Jack Childress, longtime businessman and resident, ended Dec. 16, 2015 at the age of 89.
Jack was born in 1926 in Unionville, Mo. He grew up during the depression and thought poverty was just a way of life; everyone was poor and work was hard to find. The Childress family made its way from Missouri to Yakima, Wash. where Jack worked as a farm hand. He fell in love with aviation watching the biplane crop dusters spray the fields.
At the outbreak of World War II Jack enlisted in the Army and requested the Army Air Corps. He qualified for the Army Aviation Cadet Training Program. The program was full so Jack ended up training as an aerial gunner for assignment to a B-17 bomber often referred to as the flying fortress.
Jack was assigned to the flight crew of the Gypsy Princess, a B-17 bomber, as tail gunner, part of the 385th Heavy Bomber Group, 550th Bombing Squadron. Jack flew many bombing missions over German-occupied territory fighting the ever-present German Messerschmitt fighters along the way. The 550th Bombing Squadron received two Distinguished Unit Citations for bomb missions over German-controlled territory.
After the war, in 1946 Jack worked in Yakima as a car mechanic where he met his soon-to-be lifetime business partner, Larry VanKeulin, who also worked as a mechanic. The two became best friends with too much ambition to work for wages. They decided to go into business for themselves which eventually brought the two of them to Moses Lake. They opened up a car repair business, then added a used car lot, and in a few years their hard work was rewarded by Ford Motor Company when Jack and Larry became an Edsel franchisee. Jack worked the car sales part of the business and Larry worked the mechanical service part.
After Ford discontinued the Edsel, Jack and Larry persuaded Chrysler Corporation to franchise them as a Dodge Dealer. Over the years their business, C & V Auto Sales and Service flourished and they added the Jeep and Chrysler Franchises. Jack’s son Richard Childress joined the business in 1978 and eventually took over C & V after Jack and Larry retired.
Over the years in Moses Lake, Jack has held various positions, some of which include: President of the Chamber of Commerce; President of the Moses Lake Golf & Country Club; President and then Treasurer of the American Legion; and Board Member of the Washington State Auto Dealers Association.
Jack is survived by: wife Glenna Childress; son Richard Childress and his wife Robin; son Steven Childress and his wife Carol; daughter Vicki Childress; grandson Kyle Childress and his wife Crystal Childress; granddaughter Kaylynn Castillo and her husband Brandon Castillo; four great-grandchildren; stepdaughter Linda Hansen and her husband Doug together with the Hansen’s children and grandchildren. Jack was preceded in death by his grandson Carter Hayes Childress and his stepdaughter Janet Beckley.
The family invites Jack’s friends to Kayser’s Chapel located at 831 South Pioneer Way, Moses Lake, Monday, Dec. 21 from 3 to 7 p.m. for a viewing to say a final “goodbye” to Jack. Funeral Service will be held at Immanuel Lutheran Church located at 1020 S. “A” Street, Moses Lake, on Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2015 at 2 p.m. Please sign the online guestbook or leave a note for the family at www.kayserschapel.com. Arrangements are in care of Kayser’s Chapel & Crematory.