Updated: Whitney Houston’s invite-only funeral on Saturday in Newark, New Jersey will be televised and streamed online so fans may commemorate the late iconic singer since the family behest a public memorial not be held, according to Houston’s publicist.
After collective hysteria as fans learned that a public memorial was countermanded by the Whitney Houston’s family, the public can now share a sigh of relief as Whitney’s funeral will be available to all within the reach of a television or the internet.
The legendary singer’s home going services will be at the New Hope Baptist Church, which seats 1,500 people, at noon where only family members, close friends, and about a dozen of confirmed celebrities are set to pay their last respects. While there has been no explicit confirmation if Houston’s ex-husband, Bobby Brown, and father of their 18-year-old daughter, Bobbi Kristina, is indeed invited or not, gospel singer and Pastor Marvin L. Winans will render the eulogy. Winans is a longtime friend of the Houston family and ironically officiated Whitney’s 1992 marriage to Brown.
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Why did the family decide against a public memorial for the beloved world-renowned singer?
Winans told CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Wednesday night that the family didn’t “want to have a parade.”
“I don’t think knowing Cissy (Houston’s mother) and the Houston family … it was a matter of public or private as it was this is my daughter, this is my sister, this is my mother, this is my friend and we want to do this with dignity,” Winans continued. “We loved her when she was Nippy (Whitney’s nickname) in New Jersey. The world loves her because of her voice. But if Nippy could not sing, the Houston family would love her.”
Some confirmed for the private funeral are Chaka Khan, Bebe & CeCe Winans, songwriter Diane Warren, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, pop singer Darlene Love, Bishop T.D. Jakes, Antonio “L.A.” Reid, Ray J, Brandy, and cousin Dionne Warwick who has been helping with finalizing the funeral arrangements. Aretha Franklin, Houston’s godmother, is also expected to be in attendance, who is on program to provide a musical tribute, according to Franklin’s spokeswoman.
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Though the “Run To You” singer’s final resting place has not been divulged, her death certificate filed on Wednesday in Los Angeles, California lists Fairview Cemetery in Westfield, New Jersey as the location. Houston’s late father, John Russell Houston, Jr., was buried there in 2003.
Houston, 48, was found unresponsive in the bathtub of her suite at the Beverly Hilton on Saturday, hours before she was to attend a pre-Grammy gala at the Beverly Hills, California hotel. The superstar was later pronounced dead at 3:55 P.M. PST. Speculation has grown over the cause of her death, which has not been determined pending the outcome of toxicology tests that could take a few more weeks.
Do you plan to watch Whitney’s home going service on Saturday ? If your answer is no, how do you plan on saying farewell to Whitney Houston?
