The family of Ty Longley is hoping to have a memorial service locally to honor the guitarist of Jack Russell's Great White.

Longley, 31, a Sharon native and graduate of Brookfield Local High School, died in Thursday's nightclub fire in West Warwick, R.I.

The nightclub was quickly engulfed in flames caused by the band's pyrotechnics. Ninety-seven people died and about 150 were injured, many seriously.

Longley's father, Pat, of Hartford, said he was notified that his son's body had been identified by police at about noon Sunday while he was in Rhode Island. The body was identified by dental records.

Pat Longley said he spent some time with a grief counselor before flying home with his daughter, Audrey, of Sharon.

While he has heard many rumors about his son's actions after the fire broke out, he has no official notification of where the body was found or what Ty was doing before he died.

He said he has not been able to confirm reports that Ty Longley was helping victims get out of the nightclub.

"I would love to know that," he said.

Pat Longley, who was seen with Ty's girlfriend, Heidi Peralta, on NBC's "Dateline" Sunday, said he is meeting with a local funeral director today to work out arrangements for bringing his son's body home.

He said he would like to hold a memorial service, but does not believe any of the funeral homes in town would be big enough to handle the expected crowds. An alternative site could be chosen.

"We're working slowly, but not too slowly," Longley said. "A lot of people are going to come in."

Arrangements will be announced soon, he said.

Longley said he is aware that some hurtful comments have been posted on his son's Web site, but the response to Ty's death has generally been offerings of condolences and sorrow at the loss.

"All in all, it's been pretty good," he said. "We had a lot of responses and a lot of well-wishers."

With the national press coverage Ty's death has received, Longley said he has stressed that his son did not fit into the stereotypical mode of a rock 'n' roller, and was devoted to improving his musicianship.

"He was clean-living and had a heart as big as gold," Longley said.

The family is discussing setting up a trust fund for Ty's unborn child -- Ms. Peralta of Plainfield, Ill., is pregnant -- and a fund that would award fine-arts scholarships.