Glen Cove High School graduate Jaden Thom, 20, died on Sept. 30.
Thom graduated in 2022 and was attending the University of Delaware, where he studied finance.
Thom played varsity lacrosse in high school and worked for the Glen Cove Television station alongside his twin brother, Joseph.
“Jaden was a very friendly and mature person,” said lacrosse coach Steven Tripp. “An excellent student, he cared a great deal about his grades.”
“He worked very hard on the lacrosse field. He played a few games on the varsity as a freshman and scored two goals in the first game he came up,” Tripp said.
Thom was an organ donor, and his heart was given to a 23-year-old girl who had two previous unsuccessful attempts, the school district said.
He was “a handsome young man with a great personality,” Tripp said.
Glen Cove Television posted a video titled “GCTV Remembers Jaden Thom” on Oct. 2.
“Jaden was an active GCTV crew member, host and reporter for the Friday morning news,” said GCTV reporter Kailey Yanes Rosa. “Jaden will be remembered as walking into the team studio smiling with a positive attitude.”
“GCTV is like a family,” said Chris Barry, television and media teacher. “He was definitely a constant face up here. And a constant happy, smiling face.”
Barry said the crew at GCTV was a tight-knit group after returning to school from the COVID-19 pandemic. He said Thom took many television courses while at GCHS and many of his classmates traveled home for the funeral service.
“It made you realize he was such an important face,” Barry said. “He made the place what it’s supposed to be.”
“20-year-olds aren’t supposed to die,” he said.
The Glen Cove City Council held a moment of silence for Thom at its Oct. 8 meeting.
“As a child, he rode his bike past my house every single day with his brother,” Mayor Pam Panzenbeck said.
“A year ago, last summer, the deputy mayor and I were at a fire across the street from his home, and his family was giving water to the department because it was one of the hottest days of the summer,” she said.
Panzenbeck said she learned then that Thom was involved in the Aetna Hook and Ladder Firehouse in Delaware.
According to the fire department, he joined the department as a probationary member in April 2023 and was designated an active member this July.
“Despite his sudden passing, and in the spirit of Aetna’s motto of ‘Service for Others,’ Jaden’s service will live on, impacting many others for years to come through his organ donation,” the fire department posted on Facebook.
The Glen Cove Booster Club is currently collecting donations for the Jaden Brandt Thom Memorial Scholarship, which will be awarded to one of the high school’s senior athletes.
Anyone interested in donating can visit www.gchsboosterclub.com.
