from the USTA Communications Department
Columbus, OH — Dale A. (Deyermond) Childs, 66, of Atkinson, N.H., died April 2, 2011, at the Elliot Hospital in Manchester.
Born in Methuen, Mass., she was the daughter of the late Warren Deyermond and Eleanor McEvoy. Mrs. Childs was raised in Lawrence and Methuen and was a member of the Tenney High School Class of 1962. She later attended Merrimack College in North Andover in the accounting program.
A longtime resident of Atkinson, Mrs. Childs was a member of the Atkinson Police Department from 1981 until 1998, serving as Juvenile Officer from 1992 until 1995 and the Animal Control Officer from 1980 until 1995. She served on the Town Building Needs Committee and was a member of the Budget Committee from 1985 until 1994, serving as chairman from 1986 until 1994, and also served on The Highway Safety Committee from 1989 until 1995 and co-chairman of the Dispatch Committee. She has also served as a cemetery trustee since 1999 and a trustee of the Trust Funds for the past 25 years.
Mrs. Childs was also a 24-year member of the Hampstead Police Department, beginning in 1987, and also served as the Town Animal Control Officer and Juvenile Officer. A founder and member of the Hampstead Schools Crisis Team, she represented the Police Department at Project Respect at the Hampstead Middle School. She was past president and secretary of the Hampstead Police Association and past chairman and presently board member of the Family Mediation and Juvenile Services and member of the board of directors of the Community Alliance for Teen Safety since 2004.
Mrs. Childs also served as a Special Deputy for the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Department.
A member of the Atkinson Congregational Church, she served on the board of trustees from 2007 until 2010 and was presently a member of the Pastoral Relations Committee.
A member of the USTA since 1971, Mrs. Childs owned, trained and raced Standardbreds and was one of the few women starters in the horse racing industry throughout New England. She was employed by the State of New Hampshire Pari-Mutuel Commission since 1987 and was named Director of Racing Enforcement for the State of New Hampshire in 2006.
She is survived by her husband, Fred; son, Shane (Michele); daughter, Dawn Amiss; step-son, Fred; step-daughters, Sue (Stratton) Gatzimos, Carol Tobey and Paula Hovey; grandchildren, Kerri, Ryan, Shawn, Courtney, Ashley, Danielle, Zachary, Makenna and Emerson; and several aunts, uncles, and cousins. She was preceded in death by her granddaughter, Brittany Dawn, in 1997.
Relatives and friends may call on Tuesday, April 5, from 4 to 8 p.m. at Brookside Chapel & Funeral Home, 116 Main St., Route 121A, Plaistow, N.H. Her funeral will be held on Wednesday at 10 a.m. in the Atkinson Congregational Church, Main St., Atkinson, followed by burial in Atkinson Cemetery.