del paso boulevard partnership
1219 del paso boulevard
sacramento, ca 95815
916/923.6200
1219 del paso boulevard
sacramento, ca 95815
916/923.6200
In Memoriam
Published: Thursday, Mar. 18, 2010 - 12:00 am | Page 1B
Last Modified: Friday, Mar. 19, 2010 - 12:35 pm
Cheri Keenan judged no one. She warmly welcomed bikers, pool hustlers and other rough-and-tumble types to her Nite Hawk Tavern on Del Paso Boulevard.
But trouble had to stay outside. That meant no fights, no drugs or illegal activity, and no alcohol in the adjacent pool room where the tough, no-nonsense barkeep doted on her visiting grandchildren.
"She tried to take in everyone," said her daughter, Jennyfer Smith "But she was always in control."
Keenan, who ran the landmark North Sacramento bar with a firm hand and warm heart for 18 years, died Tuesday of a heart attack, her family said. She was 57.
The St. Patrick's Day celebration became an Irish wake Wednesday as family and friends shared stories about Keenan, who reached out to improve life for the community and many customers.
A dynamic businesswoman, she sponsored holiday meals for the neighborhood and helped raise money to support revitalizing Del Paso Boulevard. She bought an empty building next door and rented it out to a hair salon operator, adding another sign of life to the redeveloping corridor.
"She had a lot of energy and helped in any way she could," Sacramento City Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy said. "She was part of the boulevard, and she was proud of it."
Most of all, friends said, Keenan was a friend to anyone in need – including many Nite Hawk regulars who had nowhere else to turn.
Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/03/18/2615113/obituary-barkeep-cheri-keenan.html#ixzz0ipkXJOwa
Editor's note: An earlier version of this story had an incorrect birth name for Cheri Keenan. The correct name was Cheryl Lynn Rowe.
