YouTube Cooking Star Auntie Fee Has Passed Away

A woman who used her passion in the kitchen and her blunt attitude to add humor and energy to her YouTube cooking videos has passed away. Days after she suffered a heart attack, Felicia O’Dell — who posted videos under the name Auntie Fee — is dead at 59.

In her videos, which amassed nearly 48 million total views and brought more than a half-million subscribers to her channel, Auntie Fee shared recipes that were tasty, cost-effective, and quite often super-sized. Her son Tavis Hunter served as her cameraman, and their back-and-forth squabbles tended to produce the channel’s funniest moments. For proof, look no further than Auntie Fee’s most popular video, a dessert recipe from 2014 that has received more than 4.5 million views to date.

“Thank you for all the prayers and hope, it did all it can do and now God made the decision to take my mother home where it’s peace and joy and I’m okay with that,” Hunter said in a statement. Auntie Fee’s Facebook page has paid tribute to O’Dell by compiled the well-wishes her fans sent her in the interim period between her heart attack and her death.

O’Dell was able to parlay her digital fame into several TV appearances as well as a merchandise line. I can think of no better way to honor the departed cooking star than by purchasing one of her seasoning blends or grill rubs, which are available from her website. Rest in peace, Auntie Fee.