Celebrities Who Have Died From Coronavirus

Lonnie Dench, Husband of ‘Accidental Thanksgiving Grandma’

Wanda Dench, the woman known as the “accidental Thanksgiving grandma,” is grieving the loss of her husband, Lonnie, due to coronavirus.

Back in 2016, Wanda mistakenly invited 17-year-old Jamal Hinton to Thanksgiving in a text that went to him instead of one of her grandkids. In a heartwarming story, the couple invited Jamal and girlfriend Mikaela to Thanksgiving anyway – and he came every subsequent year, too. They would all become close over the next few years.

Sadly, Jamal confirmed on April 1 that the grandparents both fell ill with COVID-19: “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 please send words of love and encouragement their way,” he wrote at the time.