Parsippany Marks Anniversary Of First COVID Pandemic Death

PARSIPPANY, NJ - On March 23, 2020 Parsippany lost their first resident to the COVID-19 pandemic and Mayor Michael Soriano honored that loss and the loss of 101 additional deaths on Tuesday.

"102 wonderful souls who are no longer with us," Soriano said. "As we look forward to life beyond COVID-19, we cannot forget the many lives we’ve lost during this past year.

You can see the full video message below.

Parsippany's first death came 13 days after the Garden State's first pandemic death. His name was John Brennan. He was a former harness racing trainer who worked for years at New York's Yonkers Raceway and made a home in Little Ferry. His death, the first COVID-19 death in reported in the Garden State on March 10, 2020, triggered a series of sweeping changes that altered life in New Jersey.

Brennan's death was the harbinger of more than 21,000 deaths that would come in waves over the ensuing 12 months, crashing over New Jersey at every press briefing and update. The numbers were staggering, at one point consistently 300 plus a day. More than 300 lives lost in a 24-hour period. 300 families, friends and colleagues that were changed forever in one day.

But Brennan's death also triggered public and private schools and also colleges and universities to close in-person instruction in favor of virtual learning.

Predictably, the spread of COVID-19 in New Jersey came from New York City, with its tendrils stretched thick along commuting lines and weakening into wisps the further out you traveled. The densest populations, the ones bordering the city, were hit the hardest. Bergen and Essex County in particular saw signs of strain as infections were outpacing the ability to provide treatment.

And 13 days later, it claimed the first life in Parsippany. The first, of dozens.

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