Garland Ford Childs Jr. loved crunching numbers.

“He had a real gift for it,” his wife, Joyce, said.

And he had a passion for helping others with their financial needs.

That’s why he opened Childs Business Services in the West End. He operated the accounting and tax preparation business for more than four decades.

Mr. Childs would burn the midnight oil to provide top services.

“He was very loyal to his clients,” his wife said. “If he was in your corner, he was a lifelong friend. He was a very compassionate person.”

Business acumen ran in Mr. Childs’ family. His late father, Garfield F. Childs Sr., was founder and president of Union Mutual Savings and Loan Association in Downtown.

When Garfield Jr. was not at work, the committed entrepreneur was with his wife, three daughters, son and other family.

“He was extremely devoted to his family,” said his wife of 49 years.

Mr. Childs is being remembered following his death Dec. 14, 2014, in Richmond. He was 70.

The community celebrated his life Dec. 19 at his funeral at Fifth Baptist Church in the West End.

Mr. Childs was born June 28 1944, in Nashville, Tenn.

The family later moved to Richmond and he attended Armstrong High School before later graduating from Maggie L. Walker High School in 1962.

Mr. Childs earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting and business administration in 1966 from North Carolina A&T University. While in college, he joined Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity.

While Mr. Childs and his future wife attended different high schools in Richmond, they met at a North Side drug store, where students gathered. They became acquainted while sipping cherry cokes.

They married in 1965, his senior year in college.

Mr. Childs began his career as an Internal Revenue Service agent and later was a full-time accountant for the Defense General Supply Center on South Side before he retired in 2004.

He received several accolades for his service while in government and private business.

When he was not at work, Mrs. Childs said her husband enjoyed fishing and “being around other people.”

He also was a lifelong member of Mount Carmel Baptist Church in the East End.

True to his calling, he worked as a member of the church Finance Committee.

In addition to his wife, Mr. Childs is survived by three daughters, Robin Childs-Adu Gyamfi, Renee Childs and Rea Childs; a son, Andrew Ford Prowant; a sister, Carla P. Childs, three grandchildren and a host of other relatives.