Brenda Kay Selman, age 64, peacefully departed this life on Sunday, July 19, 2026, at Diversicare Health and Rehabilitation Center in Ripley, Mississippi.
Born on February 20, 1962, in Alabama, Brenda was the daughter of the late Billy Joe Selman and Hazel Miller Hartley. She was raised on a farm and received her education through the Empire, Alabama, School System before dedicating her life to caring for others. As a Certified Nursing Assistant, Brenda spent more than thirty years serving patients throughout Alabama, compassionately caring for countless individuals in nursing homes and long-term care facilities.
A woman of Christian faith, Brenda found joy in life’s simple pleasures. She was an avid frog collector, proudly filling her home with every kind of frog decoration imaginable. She enjoyed working crossword puzzles, watching crime shows, and, perhaps most of all, savoring a good cup of coffee—with plenty of creamer and just a splash of coffee mixed in. Brenda was fun-loving, free-spirited, and wonderfully sassy. You never had to wonder what was on her mind because, if she thought it, she usually said it. That honesty, along with her unforgettable personality, was simply who Brenda was.
Although much of her life was devoted to caring for others through her work, Brenda also embraced the little things that made her smile. Her memory will live on in the hearts of those who loved her. Whenever we see a frog perched on a front porch, someone pours a little too much creamer into their coffee, or a crossword puzzle rests on a nearby table, we’ll be reminded of the fun, spirited, and unforgettable Brenda we were blessed to know.
Those left to cherish her memory include her two daughters, Randy Kaye James (Stacey) and Vicki Ann Selman; her son, Austin Joe Selman; her sister, Sarah Burnett; her three grandchildren, Ciera Kaylan James, Mikala Grace James, and Briar Ayden Freeman; her nieces and nephews, Sarah Wilkerson (Whitney), Lisa Marie Matlock (Corey), and David Burnett Jr. (Rachel); and her great-nieces and great-nephews, David Nathaniel Burnett III, Brayden Burnett, Cecilia Burnett, Lana Rose Jackson, and Lily Joe Jackson.
In addition to her parents, Brenda was preceded in death by her two sisters, Mary Katherine Livens and Judith Rose Renalds.
Ripley Funeral Home invites you to share memories with Brenda’s family.
