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Four years after Wanda Dench first became known on social media as “Thanksgiving Grandma” – because she accidentally invited a stranger to her home in Mesa, Arizona, to celebrate the holidays – the two have shared a holiday meal for the fifth time on Friday.
This year, however, Dench’s dinner with his now honorary “grandson” Jamal Hinton came with an empty seat at the table. Dench, 63, lost her husband, Lonnie, to coronavirus in March. The couple had been married for over 40 years.
“It’s going to be different, my first Thanksgiving without him,” Dench said in an interview. “My husband was always right behind me, telling me how proud he was of Jamal and me for what we did.
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In 2016, Dench texted her real grandson for Thanksgiving dinner at her home at 3 p.m. But since changing his phone number, the text has gone to Hinton instead. Despite the mistake, the still hospitable Dench asked the then 17-year-old Hinton to join the family anyway.
“You are not my grandmother,” Hinton replied at the time. “Can I still have a plate?”
“Of course you can,” Dench replied. “That’s what grandma do… feed everyone.
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The wellness story went viral, and the two families have met over cranberry sauce and stuffing every year since.
“After meeting her the first time I knew it, she’s a different person, age is really just a number,” Hinton, now 21, said of Dench, according to the New York Times. “It doesn’t matter, you can be friends with anyone, you can be family with anyone.”
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Due to the risks of a pandemic, the two decided to celebrate the holiday for a week earlier this year. They also had a smaller celebration than usual, but made sure to leave a photo of Lonnie on the table to keep their ‘family’ whole.
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