Lonnie Dench, the husband of Wanda Dench, (better known as the viral ” Thanksgiving Grandma “), died on Sunday after battling both pneumonia and the novel coronavirus.
Following his death, thousands of mourners have taken to Twitter to pay their respects with the hashtag #RipLonnie, which is now trending on the social media site.
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You might remember hearing about the so-called “Thanksgiving Grandma” back in November, or perhaps even earlier than that.
In 2016, the Arizona-based Wanda sent a text to a number she thought belonged to her grandson, inviting him to her home for Thanksgiving dinner.
However, the text actually ended up going to 17-year-old high school senior, Jamal Hinton, who shared their exchange on Twitter .
After clearing up the confusion, Wanda told Hinton he was more than welcome to join her for Thanksgiving dinner, and so he did.
In fact, every year since then Hinton has been a face at the Dench’s thanksgiving table, turning their funny text mix-up into an annual tradition.
Hinton has kept the pair’s fans updated every year on how Wanda and her husband, Lonnie, are doing.
Last year, the Dench couple actually joined Hinton at his girlfriend, Mikaela’s and Aunt Tauna’s house for dinner.
As the now-21-year-old told Good Morning America , “[Wanda] is a really good person. I really enjoy the time I spend with her.”
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However, at the beginning of April, Hinton took to Twitter to share some upsetting news.
“I am so sad to announce that Wanda and Lonnie both have COVID-19 and that Lonnie is currently in the hospital fighting both COVID and Pneumonia,” he wrote .
In no time at all, the heartbreaking update went viral, racking up thousands of retweets and comments from fans who passed along well-wishes to the ailing couple.
In an update video posted to YouTube on Friday, Hinton said Wanda is “really scared.”
“I know that Lonnie is really scared.” he continued, appearing in the somber clip with his girlfriend, Mikaela. “But I told them both that they’re both strong and that they’re going to pull through with this. I just need your guys’ wishes and prayers to help them do it.”
On Wednesday, Hinton posted another update to announce that Lonnie tragically lost his fight against COVID-19 and passed away on Sunday.
He wrote , “As some of you may have already found out tonight Lonnie did not make it… he passed away Sunday morning.”
Hinton also shared that prior to his death, all the love and support sent Lonnie’s way “put a huge smile on his face.”
The devastating news has inspired fans of Hinton’s and Dench’s to take to Twitter and mourn the loss of Lonnie.
“This is heartbreaking,” one user wrote. “They shared so much love with us for so many years. RIP Lonnie and praying for the family and friends affected by his loss.”
Another added, “This is sad. You never know why people come into your life. Be open. Learn to love from one another. Their experience is a great example to live by.”
Wanda, who Hinton later updated as not being sick, is remembering her late husband as a “hero”.
“He had the truest heart of love, like no other,” she told Arizona Family . “He did so many acts of kindness that no one ever heard about. He was my hero. And I’m a better person because of him.”
Before he contracted the virus, Lonnie told the outlet how he was doing his part to help during the outbreak.
On March 10, he sent a text message explaining that he had been delivering water to the grocery stores at night, adding that reflecting on photos of past Thanksgiving dinners with Hinton and his own family was making him smile through these troubled times.
Just a few weeks later, he would test positive for COVID-19, and less than a month later, it would take his life.
Since Lonnie died, Hinton has been sharing beautiful memories of their time together online.
He’s also using his platform and fan base to try and encourage his state, which current has 3,018 confirmed coronavirus cases and 89 deaths, to take the pandemic more seriously.
“Arizona needs to handle this way better than it is,” he wrote in a recent tweet. “As we see COVID-19 is no joke. Let’s do something.”
