I’ve actually never worked on a fridge, but from what I can tell, it’s gonna have one compressor, and make the fridge cold by wafting air over from the freezer now and again. If it’s just the fridge side struggling, probably something impeding this flow. If the back wall of the freezer is still...
Assuming he has a good reason he can’t be there to do it himself... Perhaps a local business like a maid service or estate sale broker would pack it up and call UPS for you.