Whitney Houston’s Funeral Is Invitation Only

There are thousands of fans who had hoped to pay their respects toWhitney Houston, who was found dead in a bathtub in her Beverly Hilton Hotel room Saturday night. However, the family has decided that they wanted a private service, according to Carolyn Whigham, who is the funeral director at the Whigham Funeral Home. Whitney’s body is currently resting at the funeral home in Newark, New Jersey.

Most fans expected that there would be some sort of memorial service, but Whigham said that there would be “nothing for the public.” The Houston family did express their thanks for Whitney’s fans.

Whigham spoke with reporters today and said that it was the family’s decision and they wanted their farewell to their mother, daughter, and friend to be a private moment. Houston’s body arrived in New Jersey on Monday night. There were dozens of fans outside of the Whigham funeral home. They watched as a golden hearse arrived. Security was very tight around the funeral home.

The church that Houston attended for most of her childhood had cards, balloons, and flowers outside of it yesterday. The church is near the downtown area of Newark and it’s where Houston was a soloist in the church choir.

Police have said that it will be weeks before an official cause of death is issued and there has been no speculation from authorities. All that has been released is that Houston was found underwater in her hotel bathroom.

The family’s decision to hold a private funeral is the opposite of what Michael Jackson’s family decided to do when he died. Sales of Houston’s songs, such as “I Will Always Love You,” skyrocketed on Monday on iTunes, beating out the number two seller, “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele. Her greatest hits album was also a big seller over the past couple of days.