Shortly after Troy Gentry of country duo Montgomery Gentry's Sept. 8, 2017 passing in a helicopter crash in Medford, New Jersey, his widow Angie Gentry realized that her husband would want to give back to others as a donor.
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As People reported in January 2019, it turned out that injuries sustained during the accident left Troy's organs too damaged to be transplanted, but his bones, tissue and coroneas could be donated.
"If this is your time and God says, I'm taking you home today," Angie told People, "but other parts of you still work perfectly well that could help somebody else, why would you not donate them? You don't throw something away that's perfect. It was something I felt Troy would have said: Do it."
In the same article, Angie said she looks forward to working through the Philadelphia-based Gift of Life Donor Program to meet individuals whose quality of life was improved (or life was saved) by her late husband.
"It will be neat to just give them a hug and say I'm glad I could help," she told People.
In addition to the gift of life decision that followed Troy Gentry's death, the Troy Gentry Foundation has since formed. It's allowed the Gentry's country music family in Nashville and beyond to raise funds for three causes close to Troy's heart: cancer research (Angie is a breast cancer survivor), music education and the military.
So far, two annual charity events for the Troy Gentry Foundation, titled C'Ya on the Flipside, have been held at the Grand Ole Opry House. The inaugural 2019 benefit concert featured a headline performance by Blake Shelton plus appearances by Rascal Flatts, Dierks Bentley, Dustin Lynch and others.
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Troy Gentry, a Kentucky native and the longtime bandmate of Eddie Montgomery, was married to the former Angie McClure for 18 years. They had one daughter together, Kaylee.
Montgomery Gentry's albums included Tattoos & Scars, which featured the career-launching hit "Hillbilly Shoes," and My Town. They won two major awards in 2000: The ACM award for Top New Vocal Duo or Group and the CMA award for Vocal Duo of the Year.
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