Memorial set at Henry’s Hi-Life for beloved longtime bartender
Jimmy Dillsaver, who served up beer and mixed drinks at the iconic San Jose restaurant for 35 years, died in December.
When James Dillsaver retired as a bartender at Henry’s Hi-Life in 2019 after 35 years, the iconic San Jose restaurant was packed elbow to elbow. If you can imagine it, the crowd will probably be even bigger May 18 when the restaurant hosts a memorial for Dillsaver, known by all as Jimmy, who died at age 76 last December.
His son, David Dillsaver, said it should be an amazing celebration of his dad’s life. Jimmy Dillsaver was a Vietnam veteran who worked at AT&T before finding his place at Henry’s in the mid-1980s. I don’t know what he was like working for the phone company, but Dillsaver was filled with old-school charm behind the bar at the Hi-Life.
His bushy cowboy mustache and lanky frame were instantly recognizable from across the often crowded bar. He saw the arena now known as SAP Center rise a few blocks away and served both Sharks players and their fans. He once threw out the first pitch at a San Jose Giants game and didn’t float away during the waters that flooded the Hi-Life in 1995.
David Dillsaver said his father died Dec. 17, 2023 after an illness in Grants Pass, Ore., where both he and Dillsaver’s other son live.
“We are deeply saddened, but he was sick for a while and he went peacefully,” David Dillsaver said.
Henry’s Hi-Life owner Jason Alarid, grandson of founder Henry Puckett, and his mother, Lois Reynolds, have generously opened Henry’s at 301 W. St. John St. for the event. The doors will open around 11 a.m., with the remembrance portion from noon to 3 p.m. It’ll wrap up when people are done sharing stories about Jimmy, which will likely take quite some time.
“Sure, I’m going to miss San Jose,” Jimmy Dillsaver said when he retired. “I’m going to miss this place forever.”
And, as I wrote then, we’re going to miss him, too.
THEATREWORKS’ HIGH-FLYING FUNDRAISER: It was all Greek for more than 200 TheaterWorks Silicon Valley supporters who attended the company’s Blue Sky Bacchanalia fundraiser — many wearing togas and Grecian gowns — at the Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos on May 5. The event brought in $400,000 for the Bay Area theater company, which recently survived a financial crisis.
Bay Area actor Phil Wong introduced honoree Francis Jue, and the Obie Award-winning actor was honored by performers including Wong, Nick Nakashima, Melissa WolfKlain and Solona Husband, who performed songs from “Cabaret,” “Kiss of the Spider Woman” and “Into the Woods.”
Another honoree was the Lohr family of J. Lohr Wines, which provides the “nectar of TheatreWorks.” Lynn Lohr talked about the partnership between the winery and the company, and she was joined by founder Jerry Lohr, CEO Steve Lohr and Chief Brand Officer Cynthia Lohr.
BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS: It was another inspiring morning Friday at the REACH Youth Scholarship awards breakfast at the San Jose Marriott.
The program of the San Jose Sports Authority has been running for 28 years, and Sports Authority Executive Director John Poch said it’s only continued to grow — since 2017, more than $450,000 in scholarships have been awarded to Santa Clara County high school seniors who have overcome adversity through sports.
There were 51 students nominated this year, who all wrote essays about their adversity — ranging from medical issues to the loss of a parent — that were evaluated by a panel of community and business leaders. I was a member of the selection committee from the program’s start until this year, and the impact of their stories was even greater hearing them for the first time at the breakfast.
The scholarship honorees were Akenesi Alves, St. Francis High in Mountain View ($10,000); Tyler Hodges, Gilroy High School ($10,000); Adrian Barajas, Latino College Prep in San Jose ($5,000); Franchesca Escobar, Overfelt High in San Jose ($5,000); Casey Colson, Los Gatos High ($2,500); Malachi Jackson, Milpitas High School ($2,500); Yesenia Villanueva, Downtown College Prep El Primero in San Jose ($2,500); and Thomas Woneis, Milpitas High School ($2,500).
Dillon Daniels of Mountain View High and Emma Robbins of Willow Glen High each received $7,500 from the Intero Foundation as the Dwight Clark Achievement Award winners.
Once again, honorary co-chairs Ronnie Lott and Brandi Chastain were a highlight of the program, noting that despite their own achievements in sports, they were blown away by what the students had done and the support they received from their parents and teammates.
“All the kids that I’ve met at this event have found a way to exhaust life,” Lott said. “And that, in itself, is so powerful. We’re making kids understand that yeah, you can play sports, but you’ve got to play life.”
FAIR-LY CREATIVE IDEAS: We’re less than 80 days from the start of the Santa Clara County Fair on July 25, which will be its 80th. To celebrate that milestone, the fair folks are having a contest to design a poster based around this year’s theme: “Celebrating 80 Years of Innovation, From the Fields to the Future.”
For the first time, the contest is open to both Santa Clara County students and artists with special needs, and entries will be evaluated by a panel of judges, as well as being part of a people’s choice vote during the fair, which runs through Aug. 4.
The deadline to enter is May 15, and you can get the submission rules as well as some creative inspiration at bit.ly/sccfpostercontest. Got questions or need more information? Contact Shea DeArman at 408-494-3103 or SDearman@thefair.org.