Teddy Pendergrass: R&B Icon's Funeral Arrangements Announced

Following last night's passing of R&B icon Teddy Pendergrass, at age 59, details of his memorial service have been announced.

The official public viewing will be held Jan. 22 at 10 a.m. at Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church, 2800 West Cheltenham Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19150. The funeral will be held Jan. 23 at 10 a.m., also at Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church.

Internment will follow at West Laurel Hill Cemetery, Bala Cynwyd, PA.

The family is asking that in lieu of flowers, donations be sent to The Joan & Teddy Pendergrass Memorial, P.O. Box 382, Gladwyne, PA 19035.

The chart-topping crooner suffered from colon cancer, which he was hospitalized for last summer.

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Pendergrass is survived by his mother, Ida Pendergrass; his wife Joan; his children, Teddy Pendergrass II, Trisha Pendergrass and La Donna Pendergrass; daughters from his marriage to Joan, Sherilla Lestrade and Jessica Avila; and grandchildren Montaurius Driane, Desaray Drane, Teddy Pendergrass III, Alana Nida Sky Pendergrass, Gabriel Gomes, Jasmine Lestrade and Jeremiah Sanford.

"Teddy Pendergrass was one of the greatest artists that the music industry has ever known, and there hasn't been another one since," his close friends and producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff said in a join statement. "We've lost our voice and we've lost our best friend, but we're thankful for what we had. It was beautiful. He was one of the best."

The Kingstree, South Carolina native was of the most successful R&B singers during the 1970s. His was the voice behind hit songs such as Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes' 'I Miss You,' 'Bad Luck,' 'Wake Up Everybody,' and the two million seller 'If You Don't Know Me By Now.'

As a solo artist, the five-time Grammy nominated crooner released a string of hits, including 'Close the Door,' 'Turn Off the Lights,' 'I Don't Love You Anymore' and 'Love T.K.O.'

In 1982, a near fatal car crash left him wheelchair bound. He later established the charitable Teddy Pendergrass Alliance (TPA) in 1987, and in 2007, formed a partnership with the National Spinal Cord Injury Association to help people with injuries during the early stages of recovery.

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