Whitney Houston’s New Jersey funeral to be private

By BETH DEFALCO AND CHRIS HAWLEY
Published on Wednesday 15 February 2012 00:00

WHITNEY Houston will be laid to rest in a funeral service on Saturday at the New Jersey church where she sang as a child.

The singer’s body was taken to a funeral home in her hometown of Newark, New Jersey, yesterday after being flown across the country in a private jet.

A spokesman for the family confirmed that the funeral service at the New Hope Baptist Church would be private and that there would be no wake.

Fans of Houston gathered outside the Whigham funeral home in Newark to greet the golden coffin carrying her body, which arrived under tight security. They played her songs and lit candles in her memory.

Carolyn Whigham said the service on Saturday would be invitation only, reflecting the family’s desire to the keep the memorial personal. The family ruled out holding a public event in Newark’s Prudentional Centre, a vast sports arena that can hold 18,000 people.

“They have shared her for 30 some years with the city, with the state, with the world. This is their time now for their farewell,” Ms Whigham said. “The family thanks all the fans, the friends and the media, but this time is their private time.”

Houston died on Saturday at a hotel in Beverley Hills, California. She was 48. Police sources said she was found unconscious in the bath.

A white tent led into the funeral home’s rear entrance, and two golden sarcophaguses stood at the front entrance.

Houston began singing as a child at Newark’s New Hope Baptist Church, where her mother, Grammy-winning gospel singer Cissy Houston, led the music programme for many years. Her cousin Dionne Warwick also sang in its choir.

“She was an inspiration to everybody,” said Gregory Hanks, an actor who grew up in the area and who dropped off a bouquet of flowers at the funeral home.

Mr Hanks, 26, said he saw Houston perform at the New Jersey Performing Arts Centre years ago. He said: “I grew up listening to her as a little boy, and to hear her sing, you knew she was special.”

Sandy Farrow, an IT consultant from Maryland, who was in the area visiting relatives, said she and Houston had attended Clifford J Scott High School in East Orange at the same time.

“We felt like she put East Orange on the map,” she said.

She said Houston’s death came as a shock. “We lost somebody who I thought, after all her troubles, was coming back.”

Across the street from the church, Bashir Rasheed set up shop with a bag full of T-shirts reading “In Memory of Whitney Houston 1963-2012.” He said he had sold 24 shirts within hours.