Chris Penn's friends, colleagues and loved ones will have an opportunity to come together to pay their respects to the Good Records co-founder and beloved member of the music community who passed away last month.
Penn's wife, Jennifer, shared information on her Instagram about a public memorial at Old City Park, on Thursday, May 15.
"We will be memorializing Chris, aka 'The Master of Ceremonies,' on Thursday, May 15, from 5 p.m.-Sunset at Old City Park.," Jenn wrote. "Dress code is whatever you would like, but Dickies coveralls are strongly encouraged."
She also shared that the memorial would be streaming live for people who can't make it.
Due to a human error in the City of Dallas' booking system, they double-booked the original memorial location of Winfrey Point. After getting a short list of other locations, she fell in love with the "quirkiness of Old City Park."
"I think he will love it. It’s got major Luck Reunion vibes, which we all know Chris adored," she wrote in her update. "Although I’m a little sad because Winfrey Point held a huge sentimental place in our family’s heart, maybe this was meant to be. I anticipate many to come, and I do not think space will be an issue for either the formal memorial or the celebration of his life afterwards."
On April 23, Penn died at the age of 54 after succumbing to injuries from a fall that left him paralyzed. Good Records posted on March 20 that Penn was taking down an advertising decal on the front window when it unexpectedly gave way, and he fell backward, landing directly on his back. The fall exacerbated spine and back issues he already had prior to that.
Penn's wife, Jenn, shared periodic updates on his recovery in the hospital. "The larger-than-life man we all know and love is coming to terms with an unfathomable diagnosis," she wrote in a March 26 Instagram post. "A nurse called him 'quadriplegic' this morning and I lost it."
After explaining the extent of his injury, she revealed he had to get a tracheostomy. "Immediately, with the absence of all the tubes going down his throat, we were graced with that Chris Penn 1000-watt smile," she wrote. "It lit up my fractured heart."
In early April, Robert Wilonsky of The Dallas Morning News wrote a story on Penn during a period when there were signs of improvement and still hope that he would pull through. "Keeping perspective," he told Wilonsky, "I have to do the best I can for my kids and my wife."
On April 24, Jenn wrote that "his injuries were just too great for his ravaged body to continue."
"His bravery, his beauty, his love was unwavering until the end and that is something I will always carry with me," she said.
Many people have honored Penn, who managed North Texas rock legends Polyphonic Spree and Tripping Daisy, on Instagram, coping with the devastating loss of an important music figure. You can read them below.
Bonnie Trei has organized a GoFundMe to support the Penn family. As of press time, it has raised over $214,000. You can donate here.
