Grandma and man she accidentally texted reunite for 8th Thanksgiving together

KABC logo
Thursday, November 23, 2023
Grandma and man she accidentally texted reunite for 8th Thanksgiving
Wanda Dench and Jamal Hinton celebrated their 8th Thanksgiving together in Arizona this year. The tradition started as an accident.

Wanda Dench and Jamal Hinton celebrated their 8th Thanksgiving together in Arizona this year. The tradition started as an accident.

The two met in 2016 when Dench sent a text message to the wrong number. She thought she was inviting her grandson to dinner, but Hinton got the text instead.

The two figured out the mistake and then sent selfies to each other, with Hinton asking if he could still come over. Dench texted, "Of course you can. That's what grandmas do ... feed everyone."

That's what grandmas do ... feed everyone
Wanda Dench

Since then, the two have met up every year and documented the annual tradition on social media with selfies.

After Dench's husband died, they still spent the holiday together.

"This Thanksgiving, along with all the holidays coming up, aren't going to be the same as past ones but we will make the best of it," Hinton wrote in a 2020 post. "Rest In Peace to Lonnie and everyone else we lost this year we will miss you greatly. Thank you for being in our lives."

The pair teamed up with Airbnb this year to invite two strangers to join them at the table.