Community coming together after sudden death of NYC woman

QUEENS, N.Y. (PIX11) -- A longtime hospitality worker in Sunnyside, Queens died after a sudden bout with an undiagnosed and underlying illness. Now the community is coming together to help her family take her body to Mexico.

Yoselin Zoila Campos Mendoza, 31, was beloved by those who worked with her. 

The eldest of four, Yoselin was raised in Corona, Queens. She started working for Vortex Hospitality in 2017. Most recently, she was the general manager at Brookside Market.

The young woman died on Dec. 21.

“She was not feeling well for a while and we found out it was more serious than she thought,” said Carrie Longo, one of the owners of Vortex Hospitality. "Sad. It’s very tragic. We’re all feeling just kind of stunned. It happened very fast. And we saw her every day. She was still coming to work.”

“She was an amazing young woman, very smart and passionate about anything she touched her hands on," Longo said.

Vortex Hospitality and her husband are asking for the community’s help in getting her body back to Mexico where much of her family still lives. The group has launched a GoFundMe page to do just that.

“This is very important because these were her final wishes. She was able to tell her family members and husband that she wanted to go back to Mexico, so getting her back there is the most important because that is what she wanted,” Longo said.

She said many people from the local industry have already donated, which is a testament to the kind of person Yoselin was.

“She was a great woman, so everyone has supported and donated and it’s really nice,” Longo said. “She was just lovely. She really cared about other people. She was a great listener and really hard worker.”

Vortex Hospitality said Yoselin’s family plans to take her body to Mexico by mid-January.