Los Angeles: Whitney Houston’s body has arrived in her home state of New Jersey and plans are in place for a big memorial this week.
The body of the pop diva, who was mysteriously found dead in her hotel’s bathtub at the age of 48, has reached New Jersey and a memorial is likely to be held this Friday, ABC News reported quoting family sources.
The family is planning a private service on Thursday and a public memorial at the Prudential Center on Friday. Prudential Center is an indoor arena in Newark that can accommodate nearly 20,000 people. Asked if the memorial would be on the scale of Michael Jackson’s 2009 memorial at Los Angeles’ Staples Center, the source said, “It’s going to be big.”
Houston’s family has already left Los Angeles for New Jersey. Houston’s daughter Bobbi Kristina, Ray Watson, Houston’s brother-in-law and bodyguard, and more family members have arrived in New Jersey.
Houston’s body was transported to the state in a private jet Monday night after it was released by the Los Angeles coroner. ABC reported that Houston’s funeral arrangements are expected to be handled by the Whigham Funeral Home in Newark.
Whigham is the same place that handled arrangements for her father in 2003. The funeral home is near the New Hope Baptist Church, where Houston began her lifetime of singing in the church’s choir.
Houston’s father, John Houston, was laid to rest in a cemetery in Westfield and some reports speculate that she will be buried alongside him. (PTI)