Know your neighbor: Making the world a beautiful place

Published 2:00 pm Saturday, July 26, 2025

If the line at register 7 seems longer than the others, it’s probably because Miss Brenda is on the clock.

It’s not that Brenda Welch, the 71-year-old Walmart sales associate with the dazzling jewelry and sweet smile, is slow to scan and bag. It’s because she has a following of customers who believe she is worth the wait.

“The first time I ever had the pleasure of meeting and talking to her, she reminded me of my grandmother. Honestly got teary-eyed and she hugged me,” wrote Kayla Stevens on Facebook. “Definitely need more people like her. She is the sweetest.”

“She’s the best,” wrote Kevin Harris. “I’ll wait in a long line just to go to her register. Never see her acting like she don’t wanna be there.”

“I absolutely look for her every time I go into Walmart to check out and it breaks my heart when she’s not on shift,” wrote Theresa Burris.

Welch thrives on the notoriety and genuine affection from her customers.

“I appreciate everybody and I thank them for all the love that they show,” she said. “I just love them and wish I could give everybody a big hug.”

Welch grew up in Hazlehurst where she is a lifetime member of Antioch Missionary Baptist Church. She bought a house and made the move to Brookhaven years ago to be closer to her daughter, Patrice, and her two grandchildren.

Her daughter married and moved to Ridgeland with her grandchildren, who are now 23 and 17, but Welch stayed in Brookhaven because it had become home. She still sees her family when she drives to Jackson for her weekly doctor appointments and talks to them daily.

While some may know the sassy senior citizen from her time on the line at Poppa’s Buffet & Grill, she’s most recognizable as the Walmart sales associate with all the sparkle and shine. Customers would be hard-pressed to find her without her blue vest and trademark bracelets, earrings and necklaces of cubic zirconia that weigh as much as she does.

If she seems lively and joyful for her regular customers, it’s multiplied tenfold when she spots a baby, toddler or young’un at her register or one of the neighboring lines. She squeals with delight and shoppers can hear her drawl “Hey, baby!” from aisles away.

“Oh, I just love ‘em. They all my grandkids. They all my grandchildren,” she said.

Welch is divorced but is emphatic that she’s not looking. She had more hobbies when she was younger, but now she’s content with walks outside and a good western. She’s a fan of Matt Dillon and thinks Miss Kitty was the best.

While she admires the “Gunsmoke” actress’ flamboyant costumes on the show, it’s her own grandmother that she strives to emulate.

“My grandmother, she was a seamstress and every day she got up and put on her pearls and lipstick,” Welch said. “She’d sit and sewed and she was gorgeous. And she taught me how to be a lady.”

That doesn’t mean she was always prim and proper. She grew up with two brothers and also has a tomboy side. Her father taught them how to hunt and fish and to embrace being outside.

“It was always a competition with me and my brothers,” she said. “My daddy taught us how to shoot and we shot with a .22 rifle.”

Welch’s faith shines brighter than her bling. She’ll bag with the best of them while sharing the Gospel. She wants people to know her Savior.

“Get to know Christ,” she said. “Come to Jesus. You are nothing without Him. Just come to the Lord. That’s what I pray everybody does. Get to know Jesus and get some relief in your life.”

Dinki Davis, who is a much-loved staple at Dude’s Hot Biscuits, summed it up best in her comment on a Facebook post about Welch.

“She is absolutely precious,” Davis wrote. “I saw firsthand how kind Miss Brenda is when an elderly lady’s card was declined at checkout. She paid for the lady’s items with her own money and showed genuine care. The lady had recently lost her husband and was struggling to adjust. If our world had more people like Miss Brenda, it would be a beautiful place.”