Whitney Houston’s Funeral Arrangements Released

NEWARK, N.J. —Details of Whitney’s going home service have emerged.

Whitney Houston‘s funeral service will be held Saturday in the church where she first started as a singer as a child, New Hope Baptist Church. Whitney’s body arrived at the Whigham Funeral Home, in Newark, N.J., Monday, Feb. 13, 2012. The owner of the Whigham Funeral Home in Newark said  that Whitney’s funeral will be held at noon Saturday at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark. The funeral home said there would be no wake.  It will be a private, invite only home going ceremony, and the church holds 1,500 people.  Marvin Winans will deliver the eulogy.  The family have asked that any public memorials be cancelled.  The arrangements being kept private and the public memorials waived; seem conducive with an unexpected death.  I can see them not wanting to be bothered and just wanting privacy while they mourn Whitney’s sudden passing.  There is a lot for them to swallow.

Whitney was born in Newark and was raised in nearby East Orange. She began singing as a child at 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.

Houston left behind one child, daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown, 18, from her previous marriage.

Source: AP