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Husband in viral Thanksgiving text mishap dies from coronavirus, family says

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Posted at 5:27 AM, Apr 09, 2020
and last updated 2020-04-09 09:38:23-04

The husband of a woman who sent a text accidentally inviting a teenager to Thanksgiving dinner has died from coronavirus complications, according to family.

The Arizona family gained attention on the internet several years ago after Wanda Denton sent a message that mistakenly went to Jamal Hinton, a high school student in Phoenix.

Hinton ended up spending the holiday with the Denton family and has celebrated with them ever since.

Sadly, family reported that Wanda's husband Lonnie passed away Sunday morning.

Hinton, who has posted many photos of their gatherings on his Twitter page, tweeted on April 1 that Lonnie was hospitalized with COVID-19 and pneumonia.

He then posted Wednesday that Lonnie did not survive the illness.

"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!" Hinton said in one of his messages.

Hinton also wrote, "Arizona needs to handle this way better than it is! As we see Covid-19 is no joke. Let’s do something @dougducey #StopTheSpread"