They miss her hugs; customers rally to aid of beloved Costco greeter after stroke

They call her Miss Debra and for 17 years she’s greeted patrons of the midtown Costco in Kansas City in the most loving way.

“Hey, baby, how are you doing?”

“Come here, baby, you need a hug?”

“Hi, baby. God bless you!”

Every morning, before the glass doors opened at the wholesale warehouse at 241 E. Linwood Blvd., she and a co-worker would pray together, thanking the Lord for another day.

Now, Debra Reese is receiving not only prayers but also an outpouring of support from a wave of customers who, through social media, have come to learn that the woman who offered them hugs and prayers is now in need of hugs and prayers herself.

A massive stroke before Christmas laid Miss Debra low, putting the 58-year-old on life support in St. Luke’s Hospital until mid-January, when she was transferred to Select Specialty Hospital in Kansas City, Kan.

Noticing that Miss Debra was missing from her usual spot at the door, neighbors who had grown used to her smile and good cheer asked where she was.

That has led to a flurry of concern on the community website Nextdoor.com. That, in turn, has prompted a mass of cards and letters from customers, along with the formation of a GoFundMe page. As of Thursday, people have pledged more than $1,900 to help Reese with bills or to defray any medical costs not covered by her Costco insurance.

“She’s a day brightener,” one customer wrote on Nextdoor.

“She is a treasure and gives great hugs!” declared another.

“She makes your day every time you see her,” wrote a third, on a list of dozens of patrons who praised Reese for unwavering good cheer.

“Debra is a gift,” wrote another, “reminding us of the power and beauty of love.”

Nicole King, who lives in the Brookside area, said she had known Reese since she began shopping at the midtown Costco more than 15 years ago. King was the first to spread the news on the neighborhood’s social media site.

“When we heard she had suffered a massive stroke, we had to do something,” King said. “We had to do let people know. Everyone knows who she is.”

Regina Byrd, who is Reese’s 41-year-old daughter, said that her mother had an early-warning sign of a stroke in October when she was treated for high blood pressure. She suffered the stroke Dec. 20 while at the hairdresser.

An ambulance rushed her to St. Luke’s. Doctors gave Reese little chance of living, Byrd said.

“They look at my mother as a miracle,” she said.

When Reese left St. Luke’s for Select Specialty Hospital, she was still on a ventilator and a feeding tube. The goal now, Byrd said, is to ween her off both. Next week, it is possible that Reese will be transferred to a more intensive rehabilitation hospital in Colorado. Reese is awake and can talk.

While at Select Specialty, Reese has been inundated with cards, flowers and letters from co-workers and, most notably, from customers.

“I can’t even thank everyone enough for the cards, the flowers. She has gotten so many,” Byrd said. “We’re talking about from strangers. I have never met these people in my life; they are are so supportive when it comes to my mother.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

The GoFundMe page was set up by customer Jubie St. Clair, who lives in the south Hyde Park section of Kansas City, and who sent Reese a letter with a clear sentiment. “We’re all sending you hugs,” she wrote.

Byrd said her goal for her mother is not only to see her get better, but also to improve enough to return to a job she loves. Reese’s prayers for others, Byrd said, are equally sincere.

“Oh, my goodness, she is very, very, very prayerful,” Byrd said. “She isn’t just going to pray for you in the morning. She is going to pray for you morning, noon and night. She is going to pray for you all day. That’s her.”

Byrd continued, “I want her back on her feet and I want her back at Costco.

“I’m going to get here there because that’s where she wants to be. She loves that job. She loves the people.”

The people, it seems, love her back.

This story was originally published February 9, 2017 at 3:39 PM with the headline "They miss her hugs; customers rally to aid of beloved Costco greeter after stroke."