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Whitney is back HOME in N.J as Funeral
Arrangements are made & Bobbi Kristina is recovering!
Whitney Houston's body landed in New Jersey late
Monday for a funeral to be held at week's end, said two people who have spoken
with her family.
A procession of 12 cars including the hearse, made
their way to the Whigham Funeral Home in Newark.
Houston's family raised the
possibility of holding a wake Thursday and a funeral Friday at Newark's
Prudential Center, which hosts college and professional sporting events and
seats about 18,000 people. City officials were awaiting the family's arrival to
complete the funeral planning.
Story: Pre-Grammy gala celebrates Whitney Houston's lifeA picture of Houston appeared Monday night on the electronic board outside the arena, one of the nation's busiest entertainment venues, with a New Jersey Devils game Friday night posing a logistical challenge to a planned funeral that day.
Story: Pre-Grammy gala celebrates Whitney Houston's lifeA picture of Houston appeared Monday night on the electronic board outside the arena, one of the nation's busiest entertainment venues, with a New Jersey Devils game Friday night posing a logistical challenge to a planned funeral that day.
The 48-year-old pop star was found dead in a bathtub in her suite at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in California on Saturday, hours before she was supposed to appear at a pre-Grammy Awards gala.
Funeral arrangements were being made by Newark's Whigham Funeral Home, which handled the 2003 funeral of Houston's father, John Houston, according to the two people who spoke to the AP.
A woman at the funeral home, where several police officers were stationed, said she could neither confirm nor deny reports that it would handle the arrangements. A white tent was set up leading into the funeral home's rear entrance.
The six-time Grammy winner’s death was marked at the
White House, where press secretary Jay Carney said President Obama was thinking
about Houston’s teenage daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown.
“I know that his
thoughts and prayers are with her family, especially her daughter,”
he said.
The Houston family said in a statement, “We are
devastated by the loss of our beloved Whitney. This is an unimaginable tragedy
and we will miss her terribly. We appreciate the outpouring of love and support
from her fans and friends.”
The Los Angeles coroner's office said Houston's
body was released to the family Monday morning, and police said the body was
taken to a Los Angeles-area airport in the afternoon.
Houston was born in Newark and was raised in nearby
East Orange. She began singing as a child at Newark's New Hope Baptist Church,
where her mother, Grammy-winning gospel singer Cissy Houston, led the music
program for many years. Her cousin singer Dionne Warwick also sang in its
choir.
On Monday, mourners left flowers, balloons and candles for Houston at
the wrought-iron fence around the tall brick church, which sits near the edge of
an abandoned housing project near the train line leading to New York
City.
Following her mother’s untimely death Saturday, Bobbi
Kristina was rushed to the hospital twice over the weekend, but now Whitney
Houston’s only daughter is back on the mend with loved ones, according to dad
Bobby Brown.
“My daughter did visit with
doctors at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles,” Brown said in a
statement. “She has been released and is presently with my family, including her
siblings.”
Bobbi Kristina, 18, was distraught after learning of
her mother’s death, and had to be rushed to the hospital both Saturday evening
and early Sunday morning.
“It was just extreme stress,” a family friend said of the frightening emergency. “She’s devastated. She and her mom were best friends.”
“It was just extreme stress,” a family friend said of the frightening emergency. “She’s devastated. She and her mom were best friends.”
According to RadarOnline, the teen
had a few drinks before members of Houston’s entourage gave her a sedative.
Bobbi Kristina passed out shortly afterward.
Sources close to the family told E! News that the
devastated daughter was treated for a stress-induced panic attack.
Brown rushed to be by her side Sunday, canceling his concert appearance with New Edition to fly out to Los Angeles.
“Obviously, the death of her mother is affecting her,” he said in the statement. “However, we will get through this tragedy as a family.”
Brown rushed to be by her side Sunday, canceling his concert appearance with New Edition to fly out to Los Angeles.
“Obviously, the death of her mother is affecting her,” he said in the statement. “However, we will get through this tragedy as a family.”
RIP Ms. Houston, We loved you but God loves you best.
ReplyDeleteGodspeed Whitney Houston, Godspeed.
ReplyDelete