She was a patron of the arts, a violinist, avid tennis player and fan of Larry David's irreverent television show "Curb Your Enthusiasm."
Olga Elwood, 97, of Little Rock died Monday of congestive heart failure, said her grandson, William Elwood of La Quinta, Calif.
Throughout her long life, she was accompanied by the light.
"If Olga was in a room, everything was brighter," Katherine A. Reynolds, principal viola at the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, wrote on Olga Elwood's Facebook page. "She supported everyone and that feeling she gave of 'being in your camp' will never leave me. She will not only be forever remembered with fondness but we all have her love and adoration in us forever. What a legacy."
She was born Olga Sally Pastuck in Cleveland on Aug. 10, 1923, to parents who had immigrated from Ukraine.
She grew up in Cleveland and attended Ohio University for a year before going to work for the Navy Department, where she met her future husband, Richard Bell Elwood, a Little Rock banker. Richard Elwood died in 1991.
William Elwood said his grandmother was known for being blunt, particularly with family members.
A young man with long hair arrived one time to pick up William's cousin Catherine for a date.
Olga took one look at the boy and said, "Catherine Elizabeth, I do not approve."
Olga Elwood served on several boards, including the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra board.
That's where she met Walter Hussman, publisher of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and fellow symphony board member.
"I found her to be a person to be very passionate about trying to improve the Little Rock community, especially in the cultural areas," Hussman said. "She was very dedicated to the symphony. She was just a beautiful, elegant woman who cared deeply about cultural things and trying to improve the culture in Little Rock."
Later in life, Olga Elwood attended the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, earning bachelor's and master's degrees in art history.
"She was indeed a 'Grande Dame' and an indomitable spirit!" Kathleen Holder, a UALR professor emerita, wrote on Elwood's Facebook page. "A role model and master class on how to age with grace and scintillating vitality. I was graced to spend time with her during her elder student years at UALR and felt honored when she purchased one of my pastels for her collection."
"Olga was an amazing woman," Claudia Hammans Stallings of Little Rock wrote on Facebook. "She was observant of our world and always focused on learning. She was humble and you always listened to her remarks. Quick wit. Nimble fingers on her violin. Always an aesthete."