a Mona Lisa smile

What would I say about Denise besides how much I loved her, respected her. valued her for so many characteristics, charms, honesty, tough love, compassion, humor and to me, true sweetness.

I first met Denise when she worked for Brad Stark at Hart's, a financial district white linen restaurant and saloon owned by a real estate speculator who lost everything he ever inherited and more trying to be something he never was. Then the poor bastard went dancing with a 300 lb. floozy who crushed his foot while dancing, and he wound up losing that foot along with the restaurant and all of his assets.

That hapless drunk hired me and my partner, Jimmy Brandt, to salvage his business and I met Denise and immediately liked her, and for a couple of years didn't know she was a drunk herself until she became one of the main characters in a series of joints Brandt and I owned and operated including O' Bannion's Powderworks, Harpoon Louie's, The Baja Beach Club and finally The Whale. She was a rock in an unstable, dysfunctional soap opera that was populated by people who loved her and who I believe she loved too. Susi and She, Rick and Bill, Jimmy and Karyl, Jill, Wendy and a host of other single gals, Sparky, Danny Dolan, Kenny Weed, Michael Barrett, Deborah Pritchard, and a rich cast of customers who loved and participated in this Cheers family. After knowing Denise several years I learned she had quit drinking, and I was so oblivious I hadn't known she had a problem or found a solution. She practiced humility in so many ways, she was honest, open and willing, generous, tough and a proud woman who told it like she saw it. There was something powerful for me in her always being present and able to do her job with professionalism, dignity, charm and dispatch.

One of my favorite photo's is of her sitting on a banquet at Harpoon Louie's after the lunch rush, so lady like, her long blonde hair spilling lushly, a cigarette in hand with smoke curling up, that smile of patience, acceptance and humility and a Mona Lisa smile that spoke volumes about her charm and restraint. She showed up for all our drunken cast parties, and was part of this extended family of choice that loved one another as only a family can. She was always resolute, dignified, smart, independent, true to herself and those she cared about, and demonstrated courage and compassion.
-Stu Smith