File Photo by Eric Ayres The Wheeling Symphony Orchestra and Music Director John Devlin honored former WSO Executive Director Susan Hogan during a concert on Oct. 25 at the Capitol Theatre for her contributions to the legacy of the symphony. Hogan passed away Saturday.

WHEELING — From spearheading the creation of the life-sized steel elephant statue that stands at the corner of 11th and Main Streets to helming the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra for 17 years, Susan Hogan is remembered by her friends and coworkers for her passion to make the Friendly City a better place.

Hogan, 74, of Wheeling passed away on Saturday, surrounded by family and friends. Hogan’s legacy as a driving force in the city earned her a spot in the Wheeling Hall of Fame in 2015.

Laura Carter, former YWCA Wheeling executive director, first met Hogan in 1971 when Hogan was the sole employee at the symphony apart from the musicians and conductor. Carter volunteered for the symphony then and remembered Hogan’s “passion for whatever job she had.”

Carter began to work with Hogan more closely after Hogan and her husband, William “Bill” Hogan Jr., returned from volunteering with the Peace Corps in Benin, West Africa, from 1987 to 1991. Hogan was named the executive director of YWCA Wheeling, while Carter served as the president of the YWCA Wheeling board.

Carter described Hogan as an “idea person.” Since Carter was a “process person,” she said Hogan pushed her to “think in wild terms” when they worked together.

“She could come up with ideas and carry them out when we had no money for them,” Carter said. “We both laughed when she told me one day, ‘You know, Laura, I can’t walk down the street anymore because I actually see some people crossing the street, so they don’t have to talk to me because they know I’m going to ask them for money.'”

Hogan spearheaded the creation of the organization’s Racial Justice program. Carter noted the program was “very hard to start and very hard to build,” but Hogan’s passion “kept it going.”

During her seven-year tenure, the national YWCA awarded Hogan the Racial Justice award for the programs she designed as executive director. A picture of Hogan sits on the YWCA Wheeling’s Angel Wall to honor her impact on the organization.

“The racial justice component of the YWCA, and how Wheeling has managed to do it with Susan’s help, is probably one of the biggest legacies of the YWCA,” Carter said.

Carter added Hogan ensured YWCA Wheeling “survived” so its current executive director, Lori Jones, could “build the organization for the absolute future.”

Jones, who Hogan hired to work at the YWCA Wheeling in 1998 as a business manager, said Hogan helped her find her path in life and the organization.

“I owe everything of where the organization is and where I am to Susan,” Jones said. “I wouldn’t be here today if she didn’t hire me. She was at the YWCA three weeks ago to check on the construction of our building and to make sure we were still on track.”

Jones said Hogan’s “class and down-to-earth nature” were two aspects of her personality that she strives to replicate as the organization’s leader.

“She was always insightful and never had a bad word for anybody,” Jones said. “I don’t know many people like that. There will be a big hole left by her because she was involved with so many worthwhile nonprofits in the valley.”

After her time at YWCA Wheeling, Hogan served as the executive director of the WSO for 17 years. Bruce Wheeler, who took over the WSO executive director position after Hogan retired in 2009, worked with Hogan for more than eight years as the WSO production manager.

“She was a great boss and an even better friend,” Wheeler said. “She was just a really, really good person at heart.”

Wheeler worked alongside Hogan during numerous WSO shows and events, beginning with Symphony on Ice. He recalled that Hogan never told him they could not do something.

One instance that illustrated Hogan’s can-do attitude to Wheeler was when the symphony built a float for the Fantasy in Lights Parade in a warehouse in Glen Dale. Wheeler said that the wind destroyed the float during its trip from Glen Dale to Center Wheeling for the parade, but Hogan did not want to give up on the float.

“I told her, ‘Don’t worry, I have a drill and a screwdriver,'” Wheeler said. “We put the float back together and got in the parade. From there, Susan said, ‘If I’m ever somewhere on a desert island, I want you to be with me to fix things.'”

When Hogan retired in 2009, and Wheeler took over her position, he said he could “always ask her for assistance.”

“If I had a question, I would pick up a phone to call her,” Wheeler said. “If you knew her, she was very quirky, and sometimes it was hard to follow her train of thought, but I think that was because she was just trying to do so much. I always admired that about her.”

Wheeler added that Hogan still supported him after she retired from the symphony. Hogan was a welcome sight for Wheeler to see sitting on the steps of Heritage Port during the Heritage Music BluesFest, of which he is the founder and longtime executive director.

“The look on her face and the joy she had just being in the audience, watching and listening to music as opposed to being involved in trying to help make it, made me feel really great every time I passed her,” Wheeler said. “Wheeling has suffered a great loss without Susan being there. She would come in and light up a room.”

WSO Maestro and Music Director John Devlin said when he first arrived in Wheeling, Hogan made sure she was his first friend.

“She invited me out to coffee at Good Mansion, and we sat together on the porch for hours as she briefed me on the Symphony, the city and the path ahead for the arts in Wheeling,” Devlin said. “Since that first meeting, in every interaction, she has made me feel loved, encouraged, and lifted up.

“Myself, and the rest of the WSO family, will miss her dearly. But, we also know that her spirit will live on every time music fills the air in the city she loved so much.”

Lynne Exley, who worked alongside Hogan as a former YWCA and WSO board member, said Hogan was always ready “to roll up her sleeves” and take on a project.

“Susan’s dedication to the WSO, the YWCA and a variety of arts projects was impeccable,” Exley said. “Her smile, sincerity and gusto were truly memorable.”

Temple Shalom Rabbi Joshua Lief first met Hogan in the Rotary Club of Wheeling, of which Hogan was an active member. He said she was “very thoughtful” in her suggestions, and he would miss seeing Hogan at the symphony and rotary meetings.

“She was a bright light that inspired the rest of us to shine a little brighter,” Lief said. “She was not looking for glory or attention for herself, but for how she could inspire others and inspire us all to make our community a better place for our friends, our neighbors and the strangers who dwell amongst us. Hopefully, her legacy is not just the gifts she gave while she was living but the idea that all of us could be givers. That would be a worthy legacy to live on after her.”

Former Wheeling mayor Glenn Elliott said Hogan was “one of a kind and left an indelible mark on the Wheeling community.”

“She could channel strength or empathy as the situation required, and once she was in your corner, she remained in your corner,” Elliott said. “She will be missed deeply by many.”

Former Wheeling mayor Andy McKenzie said he often called Hogan for guidance on growing the city’s arts programs. He noted that Hogan influenced the creation of the Mayor’s Arts and Cultural Commission during his tenure, of which she was a member.

“Susan was passionate about making Wheeling a better place,” McKenzie said. “She was passionate about the arts and all forms, music and physical arts. Frankly, she was someone that I went to when we were creating the commission because of her passion for the arts.”

McKenzie noted that Hogan spearheaded multiple art projects still on display in the city, including murals in downtown Wheeling and the creation of the Pocket Park, Wheeling’s first art installation on Main Street.

Hogan’s passion and dedication to improving the city earned her the first Community Spirit Award from McKenzie in 2012 for her efforts to revitalize downtown Wheeling.

“People don’t know who created things like the large steel elephant on Main Street, and she deserves the credit for those,” McKenzie said. “She was constantly prodding the business community to do better and to make Wheeling visually a better community.”

Carter recalled when Hogan first contacted her husband, Richard Carter, to obtain the steel for the elephant statue. She said Hogan asking Richard for the steel was an example of Hogan’s idea process: “She would get an idea, then think of all the people that she needed to do it and then she would go to them and say, ‘Give it to me.'”

“She was a complete idea person, all the art in the city she helped create, she never asked for permission to do,” Carter continued. “I once said to her, ‘Oh, I love that elephant and everything. How did you get the city to do all that?’ She responded, ‘Well, I just never ask for permission. I do it.'”

Carter said with Hogan’s passing, the city has lost an “idea person” whose passion for improving Wheeling was unmatched.

“She just loved Wheeling and wanted to be sure it was everything it could be,” Carter said. “She was totally remarkable. I can’t think of another person like her.”