Following the untimely passing of Little Richard, Ava DuVernay took to Twitter to reflect on a time when the founding father of rock helped her out when she was a college student.

“I served soul food brunch to Little Richard every Sunday for a year while waitressing at Aunt Kizzy’s Back Porch in LA,” she tweeted. “I was a college student. He tipped me a crisp $100 bill each week on a $75 breakfast with friends. This was 30 years ago. Helped me so much. God rest his soul.”

A fan then asked the When They See Us director if she ever connected with Richard after she became a filmmaker. She replied, “No. I never saw him again.”

Richard sadly passed away on May 9. He was 87 years old. His agent of 40 years Dick Alen confirmed the news to PEOPLE.

“Little Richard passed away this morning from bone cancer in Nashville. He was living with his brother in Nashville,” Alen said to the outlet.

“He was battling for a good while, many years. I last spoke to him about two or three weeks ago,” he added. “I knew he wasn’t well, but he never really got into it. He just would say, ‘I’m not well.’ He’s been suffering for many years with various aches and pains. He just wouldn’t talk about it much.”

Richard’s career took off in the 1950s following the release of his hit singles “Tutti Frutti,” “Good Golly, Miss Molly,” “Rip It Up,” “Lucille” and “Long Tall Sally.” He sold over 30 million records worldwide and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. In 1993, he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys.

Richard is survived by his son, Danny Jones Penniman. Take a look at DuVernay’s tweets below.