Grand Ole Opry to host celebration of Troy Gentry's life

A public memorial at the Grand Ole Opry will be held Thursday in honor of Troy Gentry, a member of the country music duo Montgomery Gentry, who died in a helicopter crash Friday at age 50.

The duo was scheduled to perform tonight (Friday) at the Flying W Airport & Resort in Medford.

The 30-year-old's body was pulled from the wreckage of the Schweizer 269 in a field south of the airport, nj.com reported.

"Troy Gentry's family wishes to acknowledge all of the kind thoughts and prayers, and asks for privacy at this time".

"The helicopter landed short of the runway in low brush, it was substantially damaged and the occupants were fatally injured", he continued. Gentry, who was 50 years old, leaves behind his wife of nearly 20 years, Angie, and their two daughters Kaylee and Taylor.

They hovered over the airport for several minutes, but crashed before emergency crews could respond. The Grand Ole Opry will host the celebration, which is open to all, and will also live stream the event for fans out of state. Yet, of course, that's only part of the story of this Kentucky native, who died at the age of 50 in a helicopter crash in New Jersey on September 8.

"People are going to be able to touch on each one of our songs and say".