By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
While the Philadelphia Phillies will have their first off day since May 27 on Thursday, Citizens Bank Park will be far from empty.
In collaboration with his family, a celebration of life service for late Phillies executive David P. Montgomery will be held at the venue — open to the public — starting at 3:05 p.m. All gates will open at 2 p.m., and Citizens Bank Park parking lots will be free of charge.
"One of David's favorite times of the year was the MLB Draft," said David's wife, Lyn. "We couldn't think of a better way to celebrate David's life, and his love of the game, than to invite his friends, colleagues and Phillies fans into his second home at the conclusion of the Draft."
In lieu of flowers, Montgomery's family kindly requests contributions be made to:
Phillies Charities Inc.
Citizens Bank Park
One Citizens Bank Park
Philadelphia, PA 19148
Montgomery passed away at 72 on May 8 after a five-year battle with cancer; among his many roles with the Phillies over the years, Montgomery was instrumental in founding the Phillies Phestival, which has raised not only awareness, but also millions of dollars to fight Lou Gehrig's Disease, ALS. The Phestival will celebrate its 35th year exactly one week after his Celebration of Life ceremony at Citizens Bank Park, a venue in which he was instrumental in its planning, construction, and current state as one of the premiere ballparks in MLB baseball.
Throughout the remainder of the season, the Phillies will continue to honor Montgomery by wearing a patch with his initials, DPM. Former Phillies southpaw Cole Hamels, now of the Chicago Cubs, recently requested to have a patch to honor his late friend.
With exactly 100 games to go, the Phillies will begin their six-game homestand against the Cincinnati Reds and Arizona Diamondbacks starting Friday, as Jay Bruce faces his first and former MLB team from 2008 to 2016 for the first time in red pinstripes.
