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Wheeling Hall of Fame Inducts 12 New Members

Photo by Linda Comins Honored Friday by the Wheeling Hall of Fame are, from left, Ethelda Burrus, wife of the late William Burrus; Ronald G. Peyton; Susan D. Vail; Harriette “Hydie” Shull Friend; Sue Seibert Farnsworth; Eve Lee, daughter of Everett Lee; Sister Joanne Gonter; Donald W. Mercer and Renita Stinson-Lavender, daughter of the late Rev. Willie F. Stinson.

WHEELING –A dozen people who have called Wheeling home were honored Friday for their contributions to the city and the wider world.

Representing several fields of endeavor, 12 new members were inducted into the Wheeling Hall of Fame during a banquet at WesBanco Arena.

Robert DeFrancis, chairman of the Hall of Fame board, noted that the 2019 class is a very large and diverse group. Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott congratulated the honorees and said they have “an impressive list of accomplishments.”

Present for induction were Donald W. Mercer, named in Business, Industry and Professions; Sue Seibert Farnsworth and Harriette “Hydie” Shull Friend, Public Service; Sister Joanne Gonter, Education and Religion; and Ronald G. Peyton and Susan D. Vail, Sports and Athletics.

Music and Fine Arts honoree Everett Lee, who is 102 and lives in Sweden, could not be present for the ceremony. His daughter, Eve Lee of Los Angeles, accepted his plaque.

Inducted posthumously were the late Albert F. Schenk III and Kathleen Hogan Schenk, Philanthropy; William Burrus, Business, Industry and Professions; John Joseph “J.J.” Owens, Music and Fine Arts; and the Rev. Willie F. Stinson, Education and Religion.

All of the living inductees expressed their gratitude for this recognition from their hometown or adopted city.

“It feels great. I’ve always been close to Wheeling … I’ve gone around the circle,” said Mercer, who worked as a biochemist in Pittsburgh, but returned to his hometown in retirement.

Mercer said a chance encounter with a cardiologist led to a partnership in which he developed a blood test that has been called one of the 20th century’s major medical developments.

Friend, a Wheeling resident who has used historic preservation for economic development, said, “I feel that I represent a lot of people who worked in partnership with me on the projects I’m credited with. I could not have done it without support from the community and powerful partnerships.”

Peyton, a sports medicine pioneer who now lives in Texas, said, “It means a lot to me to come back. Wheeling is one of the greatest places in the world. I enjoy coming back here.”

Vail, who made her mark as a golfer, coach and educator, said, “It’s a really, really good honor … I’ve lived here all my life. I’m so honored that they think enough of me to do this.”

Gonter, who taught at the former Mount de Chantal Visitation Academy for 49 years, said, “To me, this is an honor for the Sisters of the Visitation and our alumnae.”

Gonter said she is the sixth Mount graduate to enter the hall. She now resides at the Georgeown Visitation community in Washington, D.C.

“I didn’t do this by myself,” Farnsworth said, citing the influence of her parents, teachers and others.

Farnsworth, a Wheeling lawyer, serves on the boards of several foundations and nonprofit organizations. She said, “I think it (public service) is clearly important. I’m pleased with the young people who are serving now and working in nonprofits. I think the future is bright.”

Lee, a violinist and conductor, was the first African American to conduct a major Broadway production, a major symphony orchestra in the South and a major opera company in the United States.

His daughter, Eve Lee, said, “He’s thoroughly honored that he’s being inducted … It’s wonderful. He’s almost beside himself.”

Stinson, who died in 2018, was a founder of Agape Baptist Church in Wheeling. “He has shown us how his life was truly one of purpose,” said his youngest daughter, Renita Stinson-Lavender of Steubenville.

She said, “It’s really an honor on behalf of our family … We are just thankful to be here to support his legacy of love.”

Burrus, who died in 2018, was elected as the first African American president of the American Postal Workers Union in 2001.

His wife, Ethelda Burrus of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, said, “I’m so excited. It’s such an honor. It’s well-deserved.”

Owens, who died in 1931, was a prominent artist. Many of his paintings are now in the Ohio County Public Library’s archives.

The Schenks’ charitable trust continues to help scores of area organizations. Albert Schenk died in 1995; his wife, Kathleen Hogan Schenk, died in 2009.

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