Friends and family were saddened by the death of Sunset District native Howard Meehan, who died on Valentine’s Day at 57 years of age.

News of his death was made known by the Meehan family through social media.

An outpouring of condolences and memories of Meehan filled lines and lines of thread on Facebook.

Meehan was part of the local comedy circuit. Fellow comedians, like Paco Romane, who described Meehan as one of a kind, were shocked and saddened by his death. In Romane’s eyes, Meehan was “talented, funny and continually creatively searching.”

Born into a large Irish-Catholic family, Meehan attended St. Anne’s of the Sunset Church and school. He and his siblings grew up in the neighborhood. No matter where Meehan traveled or in other places he lived, the Sunset was always home.

It was his San Francisco upbringing that would make up much of the material for Meehan’s comedy routines.

While older brother Mike was the one who helped form the Meehan Brothers as a comedy team with Howard and younger brother Christopher; it was Howard who was the most eager.

His love of comedy and of a spot up on the stage drew Meehan to places like Cobbs Comedy Club in the North Beach and other venues throughout the Bay Area. According to friends, his easy-going demeanor and willingness to make people laugh enabled him to make friends easily wherever he went.

Although he held many jobs and supported a family, Meehan’s primary goal was fine-tuning the craft of comedy.

A memorial service for Meehan was held at the Star of The Sea Catholic Church, on Feb. 22.

– Jonathan Farrell