Thanksgiving Grandma's Husband Dies Of COVID-19

April 9th, 2020 - 1:13 PM EDT by Matt Schimkowitz

2 comments | Contact Newsroom

thanksgiving grandma Wanda Dench, her husband Lonnie and Jamal Hinton

Lonnie Dench, the husband of Wanda Dench, better known online Thanksgiving Grandma online, died of COVID-19 on Sunday morning. Wanda is recovering from the virus.

The news comes from the Dench's "adopted" grandson Jamal Hinton, who went viral with Wanda in 2016m following an accidental invitation to Thanksgiving dinner. According to Wilton, Wanda is "not sick" and is recovering from her bout with the illness.

"As some of you may have already found out tonight Lonnie did not make it," tweeted Jamal. "He passed away Sunday morning๐Ÿ˜” but Wanda told me all the love and support he was receiving put a huge smile on his face so I thank every single one of you guys for that!"

The story of Thanksgiving Grandma has become a viral heart-warmer over the last few years. After sending an invitation to Thanksgiving dinner to the wrong person, grandmother Wanda Dench invited Jamal Hinton, a total stranger, to her family meal.

The text created a yearly tradition in which the Internet checks in on this lovely pairing every November.

That relationship, like many around the world, took a heartbreaking turn on April 1st, when Hinton tweeted that Wanda and Lonnie were hospitalized with COVID-19 and pneumonia.

The news hit the Internet hard last night. Fans of this Thanksgiving pairing, have expressed their condolences, sending messages to Hinton on Twitter.



+ Add a Comment

Comments (2)


Display Comments

Add a Comment


Hauu! You must login or signup first!