Sheila F. Keenan — beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and friend passed away on Sept. 17, 2026, at the age of 88.

Born Sheila Forziati on Jan. 22, 1938, in Boston, Mass., to Anthony Forziati and Maura (Crotty) Forziati, she grew up in Winthrop and Scituate, Mass., with the kind of spirit that would carry her through the next eight decades. She graduated from Boston College with a bachelor’s degree and launched her career as an elementary school teacher in Charlottesville, Va., while her husband, Thomas Michael “Tod” Keenan, pursued his law degree at the University of Virginia.

In 1964, Sheila and Tod settled in Westport, where they raised their three children and where Sheila would make her home for the rest of her life. While Tod built his law practice, Sheila built a career of her own. A Fairfield County broker for more than 40 years, she was a founding partner of KMS Partners LLC, which grew under her drive and warmth into the number one real estate team in Connecticut. Her mantel held the Coldwell Banker Vision Award and, year after year, the President’s Elite designation.

But it was in service to others that Sheila’s heart truly showed itself. She spent much of her life advocating for children with special needs and their families, co-founding both Pegasus Therapeutic Riding and CLASP, and serving on the board of the Bethel Recovery Center, where her efforts earned an official citation from the Connecticut Attorney General. She served as secretary of the United Way of Westport/Weston for five years and was a longtime member of Sunrise Rotary Club of Westport, where she took on the roles of membership chairman and social chairman with equal enthusiasm. She was active in the Westport Young Women’s League and the Junior League of Fairfield County, and for 12 years she answered the call directly as an emergency medical technician with Westport Emergency Medical Service. Most recently, she was involved with P.E.O. International, an organization that helps women re-enter the workplace. These were only a fraction of the ways she gave herself to the community she loved.

To her family, she was simply “Didi”, known and adored for her kindness, her generosity, her enormous heart, boundless energy and a deep and abiding faith in God. She loved nothing more than gathering people, and she connected people, for work, for love, or just for friendship. A devoted member of St. Luke’s Church, she also belonged to the Gaelic American Club, the Fayerweather Yacht Club, the Yale Club, and the Fairfield County Hunt Club. She was a skilled card player – she co-founded a bridge group that just celebrated their 61st year, and for years also enjoyed mahjong, tennis, and paddle tennis. She loved to travel and was always up for an adventure. In her later years, you would be hard-pressed to find her without a silly hat perched on her head, no matter the season. She loved a hat, and however ridiculous, she wore it proudly, like it was the finest thing she owned.

She is survived by her children, Maura Keenan and her partner, Peter Teed; Kerry Keenan and her husband, Michael Jarvela; and Sean Keenan; her grandchildren, Olivia Firstenberg and her husband, Anthony Terlizzi; Maggie Teed; Franny Jarvela; and Lucy Jarvela; her great-grandchildren, Owen Madigan and Rosie Sally Terlizzi; and a wide, devoted circle of friends who loved her every bit as fiercely as family. Sheila had the joy of meeting Rosie, born September 14, just days before she passed. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Thomas “Tod” Keenan; her parents, Anthony and Maura Forziati; and her brother, Francis Forziati.

Sheila had a way of ending a phone call, a note, or a conversation with the words “Well, that’s it!” But with a legacy of family, friends, and service as rich as hers, that’s not it. Not even close.

She was loved by so many that her family joked it would take two churches to hold everyone who wants to say goodbye. A service and celebration of her life will be held at St. Luke Church in Westport on Friday, Dec. 18 at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Sheila’s memory to Special Olympics Connecticut and Our Vision in CT.