Funeral held for Little Village paleta vendor who captured hearts nationwide

CHICAGO (WLS) -- People gathered Sunday to memorialize an 89-year-old known as the "paleta man," who earned national attention for selling popsicles out of a cart in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood.

Fidencio Sanchez died last week, surrounded by family.

Three years ago, Sanchez earned recognition when he was seen pushing his paleta cart, earning money to help his family after his wife got sick and his daughter died.

RELATED: Little Village paleta vendor given over $380K from GoFundMe campaign

The public donated more than $380,000 to a GoFundMe campaign to help Sanchez pay healthcare bills and finally retire after pushing his ice cream cart for 23 years.