While Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson and her sister grieve the senseless deaths of their beloved family members in private, residents in their Chicago neighborhood are planning a public memorial to honor the lives of Darnell Donerson, Jason Hudson, and Julian King.
A statement just released by the actress’ rep reads: “The Hudson family welcomes anyone who wishes to attend and pay their respects to these three beloved members of the Chicago community.”
The former “American Idol” contestant will not be attending the public service, nor will her sister Julia, the mother of 7-year-old Julian King, according to Hudson’s rep. However, Chicago newspapers say that news is not expected to impact the size of the crowd. Police are estimating that the public observance to remember the slain Hudson family members will draw thousands to the South Side Chicago church where the Academy Award-winner grew up singing.
The service will be held on Sunday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Pleasant Gift Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago. The public memorial will be preceded by a private service. According to news reports, the Hudson family is planning to hold a private, invite-only service on Monday morning at Chicago’s Apostolic Church of God.
In addition to making the announcement about the public memorial service, Hudson’s rep also revealed that Jennifer and Julia Hudson just established the Hudson-King Foundation for Families of Slain Victims.
The foundation is named in honor of the singer-actress’s mother, brother and nephew.
“The specific purpose of the Foundation is to care for the needs of families who have lost relatives to a violent crime,” according to the announcement on Jennifer’s MySpace page. “This encompasses their basic needs of food, clothing and shelter as well as grief counseling.”
The creation of the foundation comes exactly one week after Jennifer’s 57-year-old mother and 27-year-old brother were found brutally murdered in their South Side home. The actress’ young nephew was found dead in an SUV on Monday. Police say the boy was shot twice in the head at close range.