OBITUARY: Harry Childs III
On February 17, 2023, Harry Childs’ daughter went into his room and opened the window to let a breeze in. A 1950s hymnal selection was playing in the background. A song called “Here I am, Lord” came on as she left the room and attended to other things. When she came back, Harry had apparently decided it was a good moment to take his leave of this place. And he did.
He leaves behind many, but in particular two daughters who know his spirit is still present, but are left terribly missing his tangible being.
Harry Beauregard Childs III was born on January 7, 1938 in St. Petersburg, the oldest son of parents Mina McCranie Childs and Harry Beauregard Childs II. He was raised in Miami, and after spending time in the Army he became an electrician. He was an electrical inspector for the city of Homestead and owned his own business, Wiremasters, from 1972 to 2001. He also taught his trade at Miami Dade Community College.
Harry met his wife, Fayma Beck, at Pan Am Airlines – he was an airplane mechanic, she was a secretary for the stewardess college. They were married until Fayma’s death on August 27, 2022.
How they came to live in Boca Grande had everything to do with a grudge. Harry’s mother was raised on Tarpon Avenue in Boca Grande, and even met Harry’s dad here. Needless to say, it was a place well known to Harry and Fayma. In 1972, Harry went on a hunting trip to Colorado. Fayma was not pleased, and her retaliation was to purchase a little rundown home on Tarpon for $10,000.
They lived in the home from 1972 to 2017 and pinched pennies to fix it up, even while they were building their retirement home in Burnsville, N.C. The little house served as a nice vacation home for the family, and Harry’s daughter Cindy, her husband, George and children Gabriela and Tucker lived there for a time.
Harry would give the shirt off his back to anyone who needed it. If there was a problem, he was the one who would work the hardest to find a solution. Afterward, he would invariably say, “Did you learn anything?”
He loved to hunt, loved to fish, he was a master gardener and loved to roam around the property he owned in North Carolina.
He would move mountains for his daughters; his grandchildren were his heart. He was a family man to the core and a fair and loving patriarch who treated others the way he wished to be treated.
Harry was very much like the electricity he worked with for so much of his life. His energy was palpable to everyone around him. He created opportunities for so many, opportunities which wouldn’t have even been dreamed of prior to his presence. He could even be a little dangerous to those who didn’t know how to handle him properly.
Above all, the world became a darker place when he left.
Harry was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Fayma; and his sisters, Mina and Carol Childs.
He is survived by a sister, Billie Spivey of Zephyrhills; his daughters, Pam Hendriksen (Keith) of Land O’ Lakes and Cynthia Crespo Cera (George) of Port Charlotte; and grandchildren Clayton, Garret, Tyler, Gabriela and Tucker.
A memorial service for Harry will be held on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 2 p.m. at the Lighthouse United Methodist Church of Boca Grande.
If you do come, you may mourn if it suits you but he would much rather you tell a funny or loving story he had something to do with.
