The accolades following the death this past weekend of Wheeling resident Susan Hogan hardly do justice considering her impact on our city. Her legacy of working to make Wheeling a better place for all will be felt for generations to come.

Hogan, a longtime executive director of the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra and the YWCA Wheeling, always kept her finger on the pulse of The Friendly City, coming up with ideas on how to make Wheeling a better place to live for all its residents — and then making those ideas happen. Consider: while at the YWCA, she instituted racial justice programming for the community in the early 1990s, an idea that has grown considerably over the ensuing 33 years. When the city of Wheeling was considering purchasing a group of dilapidated buildings in the 1100 block of Market and Main streets, Hogan took it upon herself to come up with a unique “pocket park” concept that helped take the focus off the buildings and on to something new. And as a new vision for downtown began to emerge, Hogan worked with local artists to take an empty plot of land at 11th and Main streets and turned it into a interesting space by commissioning a sculpture that we now know as Bobo the Elephant.

“She was a bright light that inspired the rest of us to shine a little brighter,” Rabbi Joshua Lief of Temple Shalom 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.”

Hogan also worked to make those around her better. That effort can be seen through the ongoing success of the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra and the YWCA.

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

There’s so much more, all focused on Hogan working to make Wheeling the best it could be.

Rest in peace, Susan Hogan. Wheeling has become a much better place due to your efforts.