Catherine Anne Childs

Catherine Anne (Elliott) Childs was born in Nottingham, England on December 25, 1933. She passed away April 11, 2013 in Merced, California. Kit, as she was known, was born to Walter and Hannah Elliott. She was one of nine children. After finishing school she went to work for Kraft Foods and later, for British European Airways. It was at BEA that she met her future husband, Larry Childs. They were married on October 4, 1958 at the Parish Church St. Mary's in Hayes, Middlesex, England. Within 3 years they had two daughters, Sandra and Alison. On November 23, 1963 the family immigrated to the United States and settled in Los Angeles, California. Kit stayed home to raise her young family and in 1966 a third daughter, Jacqueline, was born. 1967 saw the family move from L.A. to Santa Maria, in 1972 there was another move, this time to Visalia and a final move to Merced in 1977. While she was raising her family, Kit was active in the PTA, Girl Scouts, and Camp Fire Girls Organizations. She helped out as a teacher's assistant in her children's schools and got great satisfaction from it. She also worked as a teletypist for Sears and Roebuck in Santa Maria, CA. During the late 70's and early 80's Kit worked for Merced County in both the Personnel Dept. and the Conservator's Dept. In her later years, she and Larry went back to England several times to visit family and to see the sights you don't see when you live there. Kit loved to travel and together she and Larry saw many beautiful places. She especially loved the Pacific Northwest and Canada. Quick weekend getaways included Reno and San Francisco.

One of Kit's passions was cooking. She was a fantastic cook. As her birthday was on Christmas, she would spend the day in the kitchen fixing up the best Holiday meals ever! Her English Christmas cakes and Christmas puddings were her masterpieces and will be missed very much. When the children were young every Sunday Kit would cook a traditional English roast beef dinner with Yorkshire pudding that would melt in your mouth! She was also renowned for her embroidery. She stitched many patterns that she turned into pieces of art. Her embroidery now hangs on the walls of many family members. Kit was also very accomplished at knitting. Her husband and children wore many items that she would knit for them. Kit received many compliments on her work.

Preceding Catherine in death are her parents, Walter and Hannah Elliott; brothers, Alan and Frank Cousins; and sisters, Chris Smith, Jean Slipper and Carol Elliott.

She is survived by her husband of 54 years, Larry Childs; daughters, Sandra Miller (Calvin) of Merced, Alison Childs (Jay) of Sacramento and Jacqueline Gonzalves (David) of Atwater; grandchildren, Cheryl Cummings (Eric) of Merced and Brian Miller (Rosanna) of Atwater; great granddaughter, Madison Miller of Atwater; brother, Bob Elliott of Morphette, S. Australia; sisters, Frances Eagles of Birmingham, England and Lee Wicks of Swanage, England; many nieces and nephews; and she also leaves behind her faithful canine companion, Jessie, who never left her side.

The family would like to take a moment to thank Kellie Kennedy and Amie Marchini at Mission Gardens for all the care, support and love shown to Kit. The entire staff went out of their way to give Kit the best care possible and there are no words to express our gratitude. Thank you. We are eternally grateful.

There will be no services.

In lieu of flowers please make a donation to Hinds Hospice, 410 W. Main St., #A, Merced, CA 95340.