Democratic Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser announced the death of her sister due to COVID-19 complications Wednesday.
“My family and I are mourning the loss of my sister, Mercia Bowser, who passed away this morning due to complications related to COVID-19,” Bowser announced on Twitter. “Mercia was loved immensely and will be missed greatly, as she joins the legion of angels who have gone home too soon due to the pandemic.”
My family and I are mourning the loss of my sister, Mercia Bowser, who passed away this morning due to complications related to COVID-19. Mercia was loved immensely and will be missed greatly, as she joins the legion of angels who have gone home too soon due to the pandemic.
— Muriel Bowser (@MurielBowser) February 24, 2021
I ask that you continue to keep those who have been lost or impacted by the pandemic and those who are working so hard to protect us from it in your thoughts/prayers, and I respectfully request that my family & I are granted the time and space we need to mourn the loss of Mercia.
— Muriel Bowser (@MurielBowser) February 24, 2021
Mercia was Bowser’s oldest sibling and only sister, according to the Washingtonian.
Mercia Bowser was born on March 7, 1956, and passed away on February 24, 2021. pic.twitter.com/t5focFQx62
— Muriel Bowser (@MurielBowser) February 24, 2021
“Mercia was a loving, daughter, sister, aunt, and friend. She worked tirelessly for children, the elderly, and those with behavioral disorders until her retirement and beyond. She counted many friends and fond memories of her service to Catholic Charities & the DC Office on Aging,” the statement continued.
I ask that you continue to keep those who have been lost or impacted by the pandemic and those who are working so hard to protect us from it in your thoughts/prayers, and I respectfully request that my family & I are granted the time and space we need to mourn the loss of Mercia.
— Muriel Bowser (@MurielBowser) February 24, 2021
“She is survived by her parents Joan and Joseph Bowser, brothers, sister, nieces, nephews, and a host friends ranging from St. John’s Elementary School, to Academy of Our Lady High School, to Fisk University, and Israel Metropolitan CME Church.”
Bowser expressed her gratitude to the doctors and nurses at Washington Hospital Center, who treated Mercia for COVID-19 related pneumonia, according to the statement.
“We thank you for your kindness & will share how our family will honor Mercia, my only sister & oldest sibling, & her beautiful spirit in the coming days.”
Bowser proclaimed that Wednesday would be “A Day of Remembrance for Lives Lost to COVID-19” after the district passed 1,000 deaths. (RELATED: President Biden, Vice President Harris Mark 500,000 Coronavirus Deaths In White House Ceremony)
“Today, we mourn the loss of more than 1,000 Washingtonians to COVID-19,” Bowser said in a statement, according to her official page. “These beautiful souls who passed were grandparents, parents, siblings, cousins, neighbors, classmates, colleagues, friends, and loved ones. This tragic milestone is a reminder that this pandemic has forever changed families and communities.”
Bowser also ordered flags to half-staff in honor of the nearly half million Americans who lost their lives to COVID-19.
As of Tuesday, D.C. has had 39,943 people test positive for COVID-19 out of 1,204,605 overall tests, and 1,001 people have died, according to the district’s COVID-19 surveillance site.