A fallen Atlantic City officer's friends had a fitting guest when they toasted the 17th anniversary of his death Friday.
Former "Cheers" star Kelsey Grammer happened to be at the Irish Pub where friends and family gathered to remember Officer Thomas McMeekin Jr., who died March 4, 2005.
Thomas McMeekin was just 28 years old when he was struck by a bus while directing traffic at an accident scene along Chelsea and Atlantic avenues on March 3, 2005. He died from his injuries the next day.
The street now bears his name.
"We had plans — plans that were destroyed," Jen Miller McMeekin wrote in a tribute to her husband. "But I’ll always keep living the life you were denied."
The five-year veteran came from a public service family that includes a father and brother who both served as city firefighters and his uncle, former Police Chief John Mooney.
He left behind a young wife and 2-year-old daughter.
Now, Adria McMeekin is 19 years old and a college freshman at her father's alma mater, Rutgers University-New Brunswick.
She is majoring in psychology and criminal justice, with a goal of working for the FBI someday, her mother told BreakingAC.
"I made you a promise this night 17 years ago, as you laid in a coma, that I would never forget you, I would honor your memory daily, and that Adria will always know what an incredible man and father you were," Miller McMeekin wrote in her tribute. "I’ve kept that promise for 17 years and I will keep it until the day I die."
When a group of McMeekin's family and friends toasted him at the Irish Pub on Friday, Grammer — best known to many as Dr. Frasier Crane — happened to be there discussing his beer with owner Kathy Burke.
"Kathy explained why we were all there today, and he was amazing," Miller McMeekin said. He "was just so kind."
