Jerry Springer Laid To Rest In Private Chicago Ceremony

Although talk show host Jerry Springer was laid to rest in a private ceremony in Chicago, there are plans to create a public memorial for the host of "The Jerry Springer Show."

The 79-year-old former Mayor of Cinncinati passed away last week due to pancreatic cancer. He faced a short private battle, so private, in fact, that his longtime friend Steve Wilkos claimed he had no idea Jerry was facing cancer, despite seeing him last month.

Although "Judge Jerry" was laid to rest in a private ceremony in Chicago over the weekend surrounded by family and close friends, there are still plans in place for a public memorial to celebrate his life and career.

On Monday, sources told TMZ that the TV personality was laid to rest and buried in a suburb of Chicago on Sunday. Although Jerry had a lot of fans, sources told the outlet that there was only a "relatively small group of people" in attendance for the ceremony.

The religious service followed traditional Jewish customs and seemed like a modest send-off for the larger-than-life personality. His show was anything but humble, often featuring contestants getting into physical fights on a show that spanned 27 seasons and over 5,000 episodes.

Although he has been laid to rest, there are plans in place for a larger memorial to give fans their own chance to say goodbye. Sources told TMZ that a public tribute is being planned in Cincinnati for May 16. Not many details are known at this time, except that it will be a free ticketed event that is open to the general public.

It looks like event organizers are still trying to figure out what the maximum capacity for the event can be. As for now, it looks like only 500 people will be allowed inside the venue, which has yet to be disclosed at this time.

It is also unknown what the public memorial will feature. Although fans can be sure that it will feature an overview of his life and legacy, it is possible that it will include interviews with some of his famous friends throughout the years, like Steve Wilkos, who credited Jerry with helping get his own show off the ground.

Fortunately for fans who can't travel to the event, there are reportedly plans to stream the event. There are plans to have guest speakers at the event to talk about Jerry and his impact on their lives, but no one has been confirmed at this time.

Jerry’s publicist, Linda Shafran, confirmed to PEOPLE that he specifically died of pancreatic cancer following a “brief illness.” His longtime friend, Rabbi Sandford Kopnick of The Valley Temple in Cincinnati, told the magazine that his “illness was sudden.”

"He hasn't been sick for a long time," Rabbi Kopnick shared, saying that he spent time with Jerry in the week before he died. "He died of cancer, and he didn't have cancer for very long."

Even though he was known for “The Jerry Springer Show,” Kopnick felt that it didn’t really reflect Jerry, who described as “a kind and generous person who was not really best pictured on his television show.”

"There was much more to him than The Jerry Springer Show," he continued. "He was very, very smart. He was a remarkable family man, and he was somebody who understood what it means to pay it forward."

He always knew his good fortune. He never took it for granted,” he added. “When he certainly could have moved on to another congregation after I arrived in this one, not only did he stay, but he did what he could to make it thrive."

The religious leader also described how Jerry was also always willing to assist the congregation, saying, "whether it was to help emcee an interfaith dialogue, or meet with our high school kids, or be the featured speaker at a men's club event.”

"He never said no. He may have needed to figure out how to schedule it, but he never said no," he explained. "He wasn't really a resident of Cincinnati other than when he was contemplating running for office. So as a result, it always meant that he always, at his expense, would fly in for a day or two, and he was just so kind and so generous and very unassuming."

"He never lost sight of his roots," he continued. "He understood the great fortune that his family had in escaping Germany and ending up in England and then moving here."

Jerry was born Gerald Norman Springer was born on February 13, 1944, in the London Underground station of Highgate while the station was in use as a shelter from German bombing during World War II.