A Hudson County community is in mourning after the death of a beloved pastor.

Rev. H. Gene Sykes is among the hundreds of New Jersey residents who have died from complications relating to COVID-19. Sykes is being remembered as a friend, mentor and religious icon in the Bayonne community.

“He touched so many lives,” says Dr. Thomas Howard, Jr., a mentee of Sykes.

“His loss leaves a hole in the fabric of Bayonne, certainly in the heard of his family, as we mourn with his family and that entire city,” said Gov. Phil Murphy.

Sykes wore many hats, from founding two nonprofit organizations, working as an engineer and serving in the United States Air Force. But he is best known for bringing hundreds of people together through prayer.

“Rev. Sykes was a man of God. He knew God’s word, but he also knew how to translate God’s word in a way that made sense to the church members,” Howard says.

And while mourners cannot go into a church to pray for Sykes due to the virus restrictions, Howard says that many will be doing it at home.

“He created a vision for us and an opportunity to now pick up and lead, based on what he’s created in this community,” Howard says.

Sykes was 78 years old when he passed. He was originally from Florida but called Bayonne home. He died on Tuesday.