Mrs. Dena Abels Childress

Mrs. Dena Abels Childress, 83, passed into the arms of Jesus on Thursday, March 11, 2021 at Merit Health Rankin in Brandon. The family will receive friends for visitation on Sunday, March 14, 2021 at 1:00 p.m. at Chancellor Funeral Home in Florence. A Graveside service will follow at 2:00 p.m. in the Garden of Memories. Mrs. Childress was born August 13, 1937 in Sallis, MS to the late Bob and Sallie Abels. She has lived in the Florence area since 1982 and was a member of Fannin Baptist Church. In High School, she was a great basketball player and she became an avid bowler in her young adulthood. Later in life, she enjoyed playing puzzles and card games. She worked for many years as a bank teller before retiring from Trustmark Bank in Richland. She loved cooking for her family. Along with her parents, Mrs. Childress is also preceded in death by her husband, Roy Childress and her sisters, Carmen Novell and Mabry Newsom. She is survived by her daughter, Renee (Roscoe) Greene of Brandon; son, Gerry (Jodie) Graves of Pearl; grandchildren, Caroline Greene of Oxford, Drew Greene of Jackson, and Will Graves of Richland; and her sisters, Rose (Louis) McCrory of Houston, TX and Kerry (Jim) Henderson of Hudson, FL.