Howard County has completed its COVID-19 pandemic memorial with a 16-foot sculpture of bay forget-me-nots near Ellicott City.

Notched into a breezy meadow in Meadowbrook Park, the new bronze and steel art installation is the third and final component to the county’s $263,000 pandemic memorial, which includes a polished black granite fountain surrounded by benches and a grove of 44 native river birch trees.

“This remarkable work of art honors every life lost during the COVID-19 pandemic and pays tribute to our health care workers, our essential staff and our community members who worked tirelessly to carry us through some of our darkest days,” Howard County Executive Calvin Ball said at the memorial’s unveiling Monday.

Since March 2020, Howard County has seen more than 74,000 cases of COVID-19 and 544 deaths.

County officials reviewed more than 40 designs before selecting Florida-based artists Jim Benedict and Lily Kuonen to complete the memorial. Each component of the installation represents part of the story of the pandemic in Howard County, Ball said.

The bay forget-me-not buds open into blossoms to represent the cycle of life and themes such as remembrance, hope and the strength of the human spirit. The river birch trees symbolize renewal and growth. The benches and polished granite fountain offer opportunities for reflection.

Resident Shahan Rizvi stood in front of the memorial Monday and recalled witnessing his father’s death through FaceTime. His father was alone in the hospital in August 2020 when he took his final breaths through a ventilator, Rizvi said.

“This is the great tragedy of COVID-19, the loneliness that ensued because of this pandemic,” he said.

The reality of post-pandemic life without his father is painful, Rizvi said.

“That to this day still devastates me,” he said.

Antigone Vickery, deputy health officer of the Howard County Health Department, said she hopes the memorial also serves as a place of reflection for the county’s health workers.

“Beyond the physical toll of COVID-19, the pandemic brought isolation, fear, grief and economic stress, significantly impacting our mental health and reminding us of the importance of mental well-being,” Vickery said.

In neighboring Baltimore County, officials also have commemorated victims of the pandemic with public art.

Ball said the memorial in Meadowbrook Park “ensures that we never forget those we lost, never take for granted those who stepped up and never stop striving for a future that honors both.”