Health & Fitness
GoFundMe For Jalapeño's Server, Single Mom Who Died Of COVID-19
The co-owner of Jalapeño's has launched an online fundraising campaign to cover expenses for the family of an employee who died of COVID-19
TUSCALOOSA, AL — There's one less smiling face in a popular Tuscaloosa eatery after a beloved server, friend and single mother lost her battle with COVID-19 Wednesday.
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Jalapeño's Mexican Grill co-owner Justin Grimball launched a GoFundMe drive for Brandee Stripling, a 38-year-old mother of three who was admitted to DCH Regional Medical Center on Aug. 24 with severe pneumonia brought on after contracting COVID-19.
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A week into her hospital stay, he said, she went into cardiac arrest and was placed on a ventilator, before passing away Wednesday morning after nearly a month in the hospital.
"She was just a great person," Grimball told Patch. "She never asked for anything. Being a single mom, she worked her ass off for those kids and always had a smile and everyone loved her.
She was not only my employee, but she was my friend and I miss her."
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Stripling attended Brookwood High School, was a server and bartender at the Jalapeño's location in Cottondale for the last couple of years and was the mother of three girls, ages 13, 15 and 20.
Grimball said he initially launched the online fundraiser on Aug. 31 to help cover medical expenses since Stripling's only source of income was her job at his restaurant. On Thursday, he continued to ask the public to spare any generosity they could to help the young mother's grieving family.
As of the publication of this story, the effort was nearly halfway to its $10,000 goal, with 75 donors giving a total of $4,745.
"[Stripling's children] are trying their best to be strong and learn to adjust to the devastation they are going through," Grimball posted on Facebook Thursday. "They need us to pull together as a community and help them. Let’s make this happen for them and raise enough for them to bury their mother. Even if it’s $5 dollars it will still help."
Click here to donate to the GoFundMe for Brandee Stripling.
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