'Music Man,' Beloved Morristown Music Figure, Has Died

MORRISTOWN, NJ — Steve "Hogie" Hogan, a local musician who inspired and brought together a growing number of friends and supporters, died last week, two and half years after his pancreatic cancer diagnosis.

Hogie was a member of the Morristown High School class of 1997. According to Jill Kelly, spending time with Hogie meant swimming, laughing and sitting around in the hot tub at her house, "just being teenagers."

Kelly remembers meeting Hogie when she was 14 years old and the new girl in Morristown. "I don't remember how it happened, but pretty soon I remember just eating lunch with him in the cafeteria and laughing our asses off and him putting paperclips through his ear as earrings."

Many recall that Hogie stood out even in places where misfits go to belong. He had dreadlocks, tattoos, gauged ears and a dry sense of humor. Kelly described their childhood friend group as "the land of misfit toys."

After Hogie was diagnosed with cancer, the community responded with online tributes and words of encouragement. Hogie seemingly knews everyone, and everyone recognizes Hogie, according to Kelly.

"It doesn't matter how long you've known him, because every time he talked to you, he made you feel like the most important person in the room. I started the Six Degrees of Hogie Facebook page, and the stories that are pouring out from people I don't even know, that I didn't even know were in his life. One girl posted that he would come to the bar where she was bartending every night and walk her to her car at 1 a.m.," Kelly said.

Hogie's mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer approximately ten years ago, right before Thanksgiving. Kelly stated that she only lived 10 days after her diagnosis, which was a source of concern for both Hogie and his friends and family.

"But he fought, and he lived the next two and a half years like there was no tomorrow. He went places and saw friends and drove all over creation just to be there or to just sing or, you know, to go to Encore on Thursday nights and, maybe not make that much money doing what he was doing, but he loved connecting with people," Kelly said.

Last month, Hogie spent some time live-streaming from a bed at Morristown Medical Center and then from outside the hospital.

On March 29, he informed the community that he would be stopping all treatments and instead moving toward at-home hospice care, with the goal of only managing his pain.

Two weeks ago in Morristown, Kelly and a group of friends organized a fundraiser for Hogie and his wife Amanda. A crowd pressed into the Laundromat bar as local bands paid tribute, a joyous scene that was live-streamed to Hogie.

"At the end, he couldn't really see his phone, but he could hear, and when we live-streamed the benefit two Thursdays ago, Amanda, his wife, was saying that he was reacting to the music and the songs. The fact that he could hear it and hear everybody tell him how much they loved him on the camera was really special," Kelly said.

The idea for the benefit came from a long-time friend, Justin Benson, at the Morristown High School Theater reunion.

Kelly stated that Benson approached them all and told them that they needed to do something for Hogies and that they needed to do it soon because they didn't know how much longer he had.

The Hogie Benefit garnered a lot of local attention, managing to raise more than $30,000 for both Hogie and Amanda. Morristown Mayor Tim Dougherty posted about the event, saying "great entertainment for a great cause."

Following the news of Hogie's death, Dougherty said, "Morristown has suffered a great loss and we all mourn with Hogie’s family and friends. Over the years, Hogie and I had many conversations over a cup of Smart World coffee. He was a true Morristownian, who knew everyone and was a bright light within our community. He really was the unofficial mayor of Morristown."