Whitney funeral at childhood church

Whitney Houston's funeral will be held at the church where she first showcased her singing talents as a child.

Her family chose yesterday to remember Houston, 48, in a private service rather than in a large event at one of America's busiest entertainment arenas.

The owner of the Whigham Funeral Home in New Jersey said the funeral would be held at noon on Saturday at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, which seats up to 1,500. Gospel singer Marvin Winans had been chosen to give the eulogy, his son said.

The family said no public memorial service for Houston, who died at a Beverly Hills hotel on Saturday, was planned at this time.

Officials had discussed the possibility of holding a memorial at the Prudential Centre, a major sports and entertainment venue in Newark that can seat about 18,000 people, but the funeral home said it had been ruled out.

Funeral home owner Carolyn Whigham said the church service would be by invitation only, reflecting the family's decision to keep the memorial more personal.

"They have shared her for 30-some years with the city, with the state, with the world. This is their time now for their farewell," she said.

"The family thanks all the fans, the friends and the media, but this time is their private time."

Houston was underwater and apparently unconscious when she was pulled from a bath at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, California, hours before she was due to perform at producer Clive Davis' pre-Grammy Awards event.

After an autopsy on Sunday, authorities said there were no indications of foul play. It could be weeks, however, before the coroner's office completes toxicology tests to establish the cause of death.

Los Angeles County coroner's assistant chief Ed Winter said bottles of prescription medicine were found in the room. He would not give details except to say: "There weren't a lot of prescription bottles. You probably have just as many prescription bottles in your medicine cabinet."

Houston 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 programme for many years. Her cousin, singer Dionne Warwick, also sang in its choir.

Houston's family asked yesterday that any donations in her memory be sent to the arts-focused public school that she attended as a child and that was named after her in the late 1990s.

In lieu of flowers, they said mourners should donate to the Whitney Houston Academy of Creative and Performing Arts in East Orange.

An impromptu memorial for Houston was held Sunday during a sadness-tinged Grammys, with Jennifer Hudson saluting her memory with a performance of I Will Always Love You.

Viewership for the awards show soared over last year by 50%, with about 40 million viewers tuning in to the programme on CBS.

Yesterday a steady stream of well-wishers continued to stop at the New Hope Baptist Church, where the fence was adorned with dozens of flowers, balloons and oversized cards, some with hundreds of signatures and condolences written on them.

New Jersey governor Chris Christie ordered flags flown at half-staff Saturday at state government buildings, describing Houston as a "cultural icon" who belonged in the same category of New Jersey music history as Frank Sinatra, Count Basie and Bruce Springsteen.

"Her accomplishments were a great source of pride for the people of the state," he said.

Houston, a sensation from her first album, was one of the world's best-selling artists from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s, turning out such hits as I Wanna Dance With Somebody, How Will I Know, The Greatest Love Of All and I Will Always Love You. But as she struggled with drugs, her majestic voice became raspy, and she could not hit the high notes.

Houston left behind one child, daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown, 18, from her marriage to singer Bobby Brown.