A private funeral was held for Davy Jones of The Monkees near his home in Florida on Wednesday, a spokesman told Reuters. Family members, including his wife and daughters, attended the small service.
According to publicist Helen Kensick, Jones’ body was to be cremated and his ashes returned to his birthplace of Manchester, England, where a public memorial service is scheduled for next week. Another public event is in the works for either Los Angeles or New York, where Jones’ bandmates Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork and Michael Nesmith are expected to attend.
VIDEO: 5 Iconic Monkees Moments
Dolenz told Billboard this week that due to the family’s request to keep the service “very private,” the band would wait until a public memorial to pay their respects.
“There are a lot of people who are grieving pretty hard,” Dolenz told us. “The Monkees obviously had a following…and so did (Jones) on his own. So I’m not surprised (by the outpouring of grief), but I was flattered and honored to be considered one of his friends and a cohort in Monkee business. It’s like losing a brother.”
Jones died of a heart attack at his Florida home on Feb. 29. The voice behind Monkees classics like “Daydream Believer” and “Valleri” was 66.
In separate interviews, Tork and Dolenz both indicated to Billboard that without Jones, The Monkees will likely not continue as a touring group. Jones, Dolenz and Tork toured in 2011 to commemorate the Monkees’ 45 anniversary and the entire group last played together during 1997 in the U.K. to promote the Justus reunion album.
