All Quiet at Ryan Dunn's Memorial Service; Westboro Plans to Protest Public Ceremony
Ryan Dunn's private memorial service Wednesday night was peaceful but that will likely not be the case for the actor's public memorial service which Westboro Baptist Church has vowed to picket.
Hundreds of Ryan Dunn's friends and family paid their respects to Dunn during a private memorial service in West Chester, Pa., Wednesday, two days after his sudden death Monday morning. The service, which lasted more than four hours, was attended by actors Johnny Knoxville and Bam Margera and "It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia" actors Glenn Howerton and Rob McElhenney.
The private memorial service was held at DellaVecchia, Reilly, Smith & Boyd Funeral Home.
Dunn was killed in drunk-driving accident Monday morning in West Goshen Township, Pa. Police say his alcohol level was twice the legal limit when his car jumped a guardrail, flew into a wooden ravine and then burst into flames. He died along with his passenger, Zachary Hartwell. Dunn was 34.
Dunn's body will be transported to Ohio for a funeral.
An announcement on the funeral home's website states that "a public memorial service will be announced at a late date."
Westboro Baptist Church, an extremist group known for picketing the funerals of U.S. soldiers who died in Iraq, plans to picket "any public memorial/funeral held for Dunn."
The group plans to send members from its headquarters in Topeka, Kansas, to Pennsylvania for the protest.
According to its press release earlier this week, Westboro said the protest is to warn people not to mock sin and to fear and obey God.
The release mentioned that Dunn died in a car accident hours after tweeting a picture of himself and his two friends drinking.
"This is no prank! In His wrath, God cut off this young man in the prime of his life, because he made a mock of sin, and taught his fellow man to grievously sin against God."
A private memorial service for Dunn's passenger Hartwell is scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m. in West Chester.
