About Inductee

No family has dominated the Huntsville-Madison County Athletic Hall of Fame like the Childresses, one of Huntsvilles most celebrated sports clans. The late William Childress, once the branch director of the West Huntsville YMCA, was voted into the select group in 1996. Two sons, Bill and John, eventually joined their father in the Hall of Fame. Now its Tu Tus turn. Sue Childress, the matriarch of the clan, goes in this year posthumously as a member of the Class of 2002. She died on April 4, 2000, at the age of 85. An outstanding basketball player at Joe Bradley High School in the 1930s, Sue is remembered as one of the foremost leaders of girls athletics in the city. At the YMCA, she taught not only sports but also sportsmanship, teamwork, dependability and discipline. She taught swimming to fifth grade girls at West Huntsville Elementary, served as president of various PTAs and was president of the Butler Band Parents Club. She also organized a Brownie Scout program and a Girl Scout program at the YMCA. For years, the Childress home on Ninth Avenue was a hang-out for the boys and girls of West Huntsville. In 1996 when she was accepting her husbands induction into the Hall of Fame, Master of Ceremonies Bill Easterling told Tu Tu: One day youll be accepting this honor for yourself because of all your contributions to the youth of Madison County. After her death, Sue Childress was honored with a resolution from the Alabama Senate, recognizing her as a lady who was devoted to the needs of her community, as an organizer of the girls sports program as well as coach of a variety of sports.