Royce Timothy Welch, Sr., 85

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Royce Timothy Welch, Sr., 85, met his Savior face to face on January 22, 2026 at Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. He was born to John Franklin (Doc) Welch and Eula Mae Thames Welch on July 12, 1940 at Magee General Hospital in Magee, Mississippi. He met the love of his life Linda King while working at Universal on June 20,1970. Five months later, they married at New Bethlehem Baptist Church. In 2025, they celebrated fifty-five years together. He always described being married to his sweetheart as being on a rollercoaster. The baby of the Welch bunch, he was preceded in death by his loving parents and all eight of his siblings. He was also preceded in death by three of his King brothers-in-law and sister-in-law. Heaven sure had a great reunion when he was reunited with his family. Royce was the precious father to Tim Welch of Magee, Mississippi; Donna Welch Davis of Magee, Mississippi; Bill Welch (Sherrie) of Scottsboro, Alabama; Bob Welch (Missy) of Rosharon, Texas; and Ashley Welch Patterson (Wes) of Sumrall, Mississippi. He was the proud papaw to numerous grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great great grandchildren and a loving uncle to an abundance of nieces and nephews. He is survived by his wife Linda, five children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, great great grandchildren, brother-in-law Roger King (Pam), sisters-in-law Lisa King and Lainey King, and special friend Steve Newell (Bebe).

Royce was a 1959 graduate of Magee High School. Always a Trojan, he enjoyed playing football for Magee and cheering on the Trojans when his sons played football and his daughter played trumpet in the band. He never missed a game while his kids were at Magee. You could always find him in the season ticket section. A patriot at heart, he was honorably discharged from the Army after serving for ten years. He loved God and country. He never met a stranger. He held many jobs throughout his life. Royce worked at a grocery store while living in Arizona. Back in Mississippi, he was a door-to-door water purifier salesman. Royce was well-known for being a supervisor at Universal where he was introduced to his wife by his brother-in-law Doyle King. After working at the plant, he and his wife Linda ran Strutters Fried Chicken for nineteen years. Everyone in Magee knew him for his delicious fried chicken and were saddened when it closed in July 1995. For over forty years, he was a bail bondsman. He wrote bonds for Magee PD, Mendenhall PD, Simpson County, Covington County, Rankin County, and Smith County. He loved to fish and would invite everybody he met to go fishing with him. He enjoyed picking blueberries and pears from his garden to give away to the community. You could always find him in the kitchen cooking for others. His specialty was baking cakes and pies. He enjoyed growing tomatoes, turnips, squash, watermelons, and peppers, as well as flowers. He had the biggest green thumb. A deacon and the oldest member of New Bethlehem Baptist Church, he loved his church and his church family. A back -row-Baptist, he did not miss church unless he was sick or in the hospital. He was always telling others about Jesus and inviting them to church. After church, he enjoyed going out to eat and spending the afternoon with his family. Church and family get-togethers at the pond included fishing and eating and were always some of his most favorite times. He’s now spending eternity in Heaven, a place he always longed to go to. His motto was: “I was born to serve the Lord!” You can join him in Heaven, too, if you know, love, and follow Jesus!

Visitation will be Tuesday, January 27 at New Bethlehem Baptist Church from 10:30am-11am for family and 11am-2pm for friends. Funeral service is at 2pm. His final resting place will be in the Welch Cemetery.