Rest In Peace,Whitney Houston!

Pop star Whitney Houston's funeral service will be held Saturday in the New Jersey church where she first showcased her singing talents as a child.

The owner of the Whigham Funeral Home in Newark says Houston's funeral will be held at noon at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark.

Whigham Funeral Home handled the 2003 funeral of Houston's father. They spoke Monday on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak for Houston's family.

Houston's body was flown from California to New Jersey late Monday.
Houston died Saturday at a hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. She was 48. Officials say she was underwater and apparently unconscious when she was pulled from a bathtub.

A woman at the funeral home, where several police officers were stationed, said she could neither confirm nor deny reports that it would handle Houston's arrangements. A white tent was set up leading into the funeral home's rear entrance, and two opulent golden sarcophaguses stood at the front entrance.
Dozens of Houston fans went to the funeral home, where they played her songs, sang, lit candles to remember her and hoped to get a glimpse of her casket.

Houston was born in Newark and was raised in nearby East Orange. Her 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.

A 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.

Houston's relatives also were debating whether to have a smaller service at New Hope Baptist Church, where family members have sung. They planned to meet Tuesday with officials to finalize the details, according to someone who had knowledge of the planning but wasn't authorized to speak publicly about it and requested anonymity.

Houston 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.

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.

"She was an inspiration to everybody," said Gregory Hanks, an actor who grew up in the neighborhood and who dropped off a bouquet of flowers.

After all the goodbyes have been said, Whitney Houston will be laid to rest on Sunday.
She will be buried in a plot adjacent to her late father, John Russell Houston, who died in 2003, at the Fairview Cemetery in Westfield, NJ.

All of this is happening just one day after Houston's funeral service at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, NJ, where Houston grew up singing as a little girl.

Many of her friends and family and colleagues will be in attendance. We've already seen Ray J and Kevin Costner on their way.

Rest in peace, Whitney!