WALL TOWNSHIP — The first permanent national COVID-19 remembrance site, the Rami’s Heart COVID-19 Memorial, located at Allaire Community Farm in Wall, held a candlelight vigil and ceremony on Saturday to mark five years since the COVID-19 pandemic began and honor those who were lost.
The event attracted hundreds of people, most of whom have become a part of the grieving community since the pandemic started in March of 2020. The first New Jersey COVID-19-related death was documented on March 10, 2020, when Little Ferry resident John Brennan died at 69 from the virus, according to state health officials.
The memorial site and fourth annual candlelighting remembrance was spearheaded by Belmar resident Rima Samman-Whitaker in 2021, in memory of her brother Rami, who died from COVID-19 complications in May of 2020 at the age of 40. Samman-Whitaker said that the memorial started as just a few shells on a Belmar beach, but the exponential growth of the pandemic led to the growth of the memorial as well.
“Tonight is bittersweet,” Samman-Whitaker told The Coast Star. “It’s a strange feeling, because it’s been five years. I am glad that we can provide a space for everybody, and keep people’s memories alive. We are so grateful to Allaire Community Farm for giving us a home, because we really wouldn’t be able to do this otherwise. It’s very humbling to see how we’ve grown from our first year until now. You get to see a lot of grievers being more forward with their lives, and building new lives.”
Samman-Whitaker said the community that has been created through the memorial has brought grievers together in ways that provide a path forward for many.
“With all of the work that we have been doing with volunteers, we get a lot of grievers,” Samman-Whitaker said. “As years pass by, we’ve had two widows and two widowers connect, and they are now couples.”
Samman-Whitaker herself has also married since starting the memorial. Her husband is Travis Whitaker.
“Two of my bridesmaids were actually fellow grievers that I met through the memorial,” Samman-Whitaker said. “It’s very humbling, because we have created this community. Our family members aren’t there to stand with us anymore, so we now come together for these life events.”
Allaire Community Farm owner JoAnn Burney spoke on the immeasurable effect Samman-Whitaker’s efforts in the memorial have had on the grieving community.
“They’ve created beautiful new stories,” Allaire Community Farm owner JoAnn Burney said. “They are creating beauty from ashes. It’s amazing, the impact that has followed from Rima’s love for her brother.”
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