Private funeral Saturday for Whitney Houston
US: Pop diva Whitney Houston will be laid to rest on Saturday after a
private funeral service at the New Jersey Baptist church where she grew
up singing in a gospel choir. Fans of Houston, who died Saturday aged
just 48, will be denied the chance to say farewell in a mass outpouring
as the singer's family has apparently decided against holding a two-day
public memorial in a Newark sports arena.
"The service will be held Saturday 12 noon (1700 GMT) at New Hope
Baptist Church," a spokeswoman at the Whigham Funeral Home in Newark,
which was handling preparations for Houston's burial, told AFP.
Houston was found unconscious in her bathtub on Saturday afternoon at
the Beverly Hilton hotel as preparations were under way for the Grammy
Awards, the highlight of the music industry calendar. Medics were unable
to revive her.
Houston, who possessed one of the greatest-ever singing voices and
sold more than 170 million records, fought a long and public battle with
substance abuse after her career and personal life went off the rails.
Fans were awaiting autopsy results that may not be made public for up
to eight weeks, as speculation rages that the singing legend may have
died from a lethal cocktail of prescription drugs and alcohol.
The autopsy was completed on Sunday but the results have been held
back pending the completion of a toxicology probe. Houston's funeral
service will be held at New Hope Baptist Church, where she honed her
singing craft, and where her mother, the acclaimed soul and gospel
singer Cissy Houston, served as music director for decades. News reports
said plans had been under consideration for a larger public service --
possibly at the Prudential Center sports arena in Newark, a venue that
would have allowed thousand of Houston's fans to pay their last
respects.
AFP
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