Edward J. Hogan

Edward J. Hogan, 94, of Westlake Village passed away December 7, 2021. Born to Irish immigrant parents on September 28, 1927, Ed Hogan came through the Great Depression a determined young man. A native of New Jersey, he attended Arts High School where he met his future bride, Lynn. He joined the Naval Air Corps in May,1945 where he began his career in aviation. He later attended Seton Hall College under the G.I. Bill.

Ed earned his commercial pilot's license and began working for Sky Coach on the East Coast in 1948. Ed and Lynn married in 1951 and that same year, he flew as a co-pilot for US Air Coach out of Burbank, California. He became District Sales Manager for Transocean Air Lines in Los Angeles in 1954 and served in the same capacity in Honolulu in 1956 and in San Francisco in 1957. Transocean Air was the first tourist flight operation to Hawaii. When Ed transferred to New York in 1958, he became Director of Domestic and Pacific Sales.

In 1959, he and Lynn, opened their first retail travel agency, Pleasant Travel Service in Point Pleasant, New Jersey. The dynamic duo worked tirelessly with Ed managing sales and marketing and Lynn overseeing retail and wholesale. In 1962, they moved the family business to the West Coast, to better serve the destination of Hawaii. In 1992, Pleasant Holidays, LLC reached total revenues of $500 million annually.

In October of 1998, the Hogan’s sold Pleasant Holidays, LLC to the Auto Club of Southern California and in 1998 Ed and Lynn established The Hogan Family Foundation which was established to promote entrepreneurship and various philanthropic endeavors. The Foundation's humanitarian efforts include the Hogan Angel Flight Program that provides air transportation for people and veterans in need of medical treatment and diagnosis and the Gardens of the World, a 4.5-acre community park in Thousand Oaks, California, which features different types of gardens found around the world for the community to enjoy. Ed was the recipient of numerous awards throughout his career. He was named Executive of the Year by Executive Magazine in 1986, awarded Mr. Tourism Hawaii by Hawaii State Senate in 1987 after sending Pleasant’s two-millionth visitor to the islands, Pacific Newsmaker of the Year by Travel People Magazine, 1989, Spirit of Community Award by the Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce in 2010, just to name a few. Among the honors bestowed on Ed were honorary degrees from Chaminade University and an award from accounting firm Ernst and Young, honoring his success as an entrepreneur.

In 2004, Ed purchased twenty-two acres of land in Hidden Valley, California, christened it Rancho St. Francis, and began the process of developing a program that simultaneously assisted horses and people in need of special attention. Ed had felt a fondness toward horses since his older brother Jack took a job selling produce from a horse-drawn wagon in the 1930’s. But it was not until the age of sixty-four, when Ed purchased an Arabian horse at auction, that a personal relationship with a horse deepened his love for the equine species. As he learned to ride his horse, Ed was exposed not just to the challenges faced by children growing up in rural ranching communities, but also to the suffering of abused, neglected, sick and injured horses. Under Ed’s guidance, the Foundation began rescuing horses and operating a number of programs that allowed children and adults encountering hardships to participate in equine programs, from children in the foster system to those whose parents are deployed in the military. In 2007, a second ranch in Santa Rosa Valley was purchased to expand programs to the community and to help rescue and rehabilitate more horses.

Ed loved spending time with his dogs, riding horses, playing golf, and traveling the world. He remained Chairman, President, & CEO of the Hogan Family Foundation and Pleasant Travel Service up to his death. Ed is preceded in death by his wife Lynn of 69 years and is survived by his four children: Brian, Christine, Gary, and Glenn. He is also survived by four grandchildren; Michael, Shallyn, Gavin and Grant; and three great grandchildren; Ryder, Avery, and Wyatt.

The family requests those who wish to express sympathy to consider donating to the Hogan Family Foundation at 2834 Borchard Road, Newbury Park, CA 91320, or to their favorite charity.