Grandma who accidentally invited a random teen to Thanksgiving loses husband to COVID

Lonnie Dench, the husband of the grandmother who went viral for unintentionally invited a random teenager to Thanksgiving four years ago, has reportedly died of COVID-19.

In 2016, Wanda Dench sent out a group text asking her grandson and his girlfriend if they were attending her annual Thanksgiving dinner. A confused Jamal Hinton, then 17 years old, responded.

"Your grandma," Dench said, when Jamal asked who sent the messages.

Jamal, still confused, asked for a photo. When Dench replied with a selfie, he sent one back and said, "You not my grandma. Can I still get a plate tho?"

"Of course," Dench wrote back. "That's what grandmas do...Feed everyone."

Hinton didshow up to Dench's family Thanksgiving, and every year since for the past four years. Dench's family became close with Hinton's, and they started a tradition of celebrating together.

Tweet may have been deleted

Last week, Hinton tweeted that both Wanda and her husband Lonnie tested positive for COVID-19, of which there are more than 400,000 confirmed cases in the United States. Lonnie was hospitalized for pneumonia, one of the severe side effects caused by the coronavirus. Hinton asked his followers to "send words of love and encouragement."

Tweet may have been deleted

Hinton announced on Wednesday that Lonnie had passed away on Sunday morning. The outpouring of support from Twitter "put a huge smile on his face" before he died, Wanda told Hinton.

In a follow up tweet, Hinton confirmed that Wanda is "not sick," and called on Arizona governor Doug Ducey to "handle this way better than it is." The state mandated a stay-at-home order last week.

USA Todayconfirmed with the Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner that Lonnie Dench did pass away on Sunday, but could not confirm the cause of death.

Thanksgiving 2020 won't be the same without Lonnie.