HUNTINGTON COUNTY, Ind. (Fort Wayne’s NBC) – UAW members held a vigil to remember their fellow worker who died from a heart attack while working her shift on the picket lines.

51-year-old Jennifer McDowell took her shift on the picket lines last Saturday.

“I didn’t even know what to think,” Tiffany Current, a UAW member said. “I was kind of in denial. I didn’t think it could be her. I just talked to her recently.”

A few UAW members said McDowell had a heart attack that evening and died.

A week later on Saturday, UAW members gathered at the General Motors Fort Wayne Assembly plant at Gate 3 for the vigil. Members shared prayers and held a moment of silence to show their respect for McDowell.

Fort Wayne’s NBC talked with a UAW member who said seeing the support at the vigil meant a lot to her and that she will always remember her close friend.

“That really means a lot to me because everyone coming out for her and partially for me too because we were so close,” Current said. “It shows more of how much we’re a family here.”

McDowell served in the United States Army from 1987-1994 and served overseas in Desert Storm.

Several UAW members said many people loved working with McDowell and that she cared for many around her.

The vigil started at 8 P.M. on Saturday.