Dr. Melvin Davis Childers Jr.

He was 91 years old. Mel or M.D. as many called him, was born in Appomattox, Virginia on April 20,1932.

He attended public school in Roanoke, Virginia. He graduated from Hampden Sydney College with a B.S. in chemistry in 1954. He received his medical degree from the Medical College of Virginia in 1958. In 1959, he spent the summer at the Lancaster Course in Ophthalmology at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. He then served his internship at Roanoke Memorial Hospital. He served his residency in Ophthalmology in New Orleans at Louisiana State University at Charity Hospital in 1962. In 1965, he completed the Certified American board of Ophthalmology. He served as the President of the Charlotte Ophthalmology Society and Chief of Service at Presbyterian and Mercy Hospitals. He was the first ophthalmologist in Charlotte to perform outpatient cataract surgery with intraocular lens implantation at Presbyterian Hospital, and also performed the first radial keratotomy for nearsightedness. He was a member of the American KeratoRefractive Society and the American Intraocular Lens Society. He was also a Fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and a member of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery. His surgical specialty was in Cataract Extraction and the implant of intraocular lenses. He practiced medicine for over 39 years.

He is survived by his wife, Peggy Crump Childers; his daughter, Cynthia Childers Jones and her husband, William Erwin Jones, Jr.; as well as his three grandsons, Walker Davis Burton, Carter McKain Burton, and Chase Maxwell Burton.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Mr and Mrs. Melvin Davis Childers, Sr.; his sister, Lois Ann Childers Sessoms; and his first wife, Molly Harvey Childers (the mother of Cynthia Childers Jones).

He enjoyed playing the piano, fishing in Santee Cooper, S.C. and tarpon and sail fishing in Sarasota, Florida. He also enjoyed playing tennis and golf as a member of both Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C. and The Oaks Club in Osprey, Fla. where he retired. He also enjoyed traveling at home and abroad. But, most of all, he enjoyed and loved his family.

In lieu of flowers, please send any donations to the Dr. and Mrs. Melvin D. Childers, Jr. Scholarship Fund, Queens University of Charlotte, School of Nursing, 1900 Selwyn Ave., Charlotte, NC 28207, Director of Donor Relations - Lindsay Kelly (704) 337-2527.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 1:00 p.m., on Saturday, March 2, 2024 at McEwen Funeral Home located at 10500 Park Road, Charlotte, N.C.

Online condolences may be shared at www.mcewenpinevillechapel.com.