Whitney Houston fans have few places to grieve

A large image of Whitney Houston displayed on the side of the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., Feb. 14, 2012. / AP

NEWARK, N.J. - In Whitney Houston's hometown, her family plans a private church service, with no public memorial set. In Los Angeles, where she died, there's not even a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for fans to pile flowers. So for the legion of music lovers mourning a global superstar, where do broken hearts go?

Fans who have gathered outside the church where Houston will be eulogized Saturday at an invitation-only service — and outside the funeral home where her body now rests — say they understand why the family wants to keep the world out the best they can. But they also yearned for the chance to fully share in the grief and the remembrance of a native daughter who made it big and made them proud.

Samuel Turner Jackson, of Newark, said he was looking forward to heading down to "The Rock," as the Prudential Center is known. Before, that is, the funeral home announced Tuesday that no public service would be held at the 18,000-seat arena, an option that had been discussed.

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The arena, home to home to the NHL's New Jersey Devils, displayed an image of Houston on a screen outside Tuesday.

"We don't know what the circumstances are, but we're sure that the family did want to share something with the community that she gave so much to," he said. "But they have their reasons, and we're going to do the best we can to pay our respects and to mourn her."

60 Photos

Whitney Houston 1963-2012

Antonio Ballinger, of Newark, also hoped to attend a public service and "see her off," and said he was saddened to hear he wouldn't get the opportunity.

"But my blessings go out to the family, and I wish them nothing but the best," he said.

The family said Tuesday it had no plans right now for a public memorial. Still, fans in this downtrodden city held out hope.

"Maybe at some point down the road, they might do something," said B.J. Frazier, of East Orange. "It's like they're saying today, they shared her for a long time and they just want her to themselves for now."

Houston, a sensation from her first, eponymous album in 1985, 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 couldn't hit the high notes.

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Remembering Whitney

Houston, 48, died Feb. 11 at a hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., just hours before she was set to perform at producer Clive Davis' pre-Grammy Awards bash. Officials say she was apparently unconscious when she was pulled from a bathtub.

Authorities Sunday said an autopsy found no indications of foul play or obvious signs of trauma on Houston. It could be weeks, however, before the coroner's office completes toxicology tests to establish the cause of death.

Law enforcement sources have confirmed to CBS News that prescription drugs were found in her hotle room, creating speculation that a mixture of drugs and alcohol could have contributed to her death. (Watch John Blackstone's report on the investigation into Houston's death at left.)

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 program for many years. Her cousin, future pop star Dionne Warwick, also sang in its choir.

The family decided that, after sharing Whitney with the city, state and world for more than 30 years, "this is their time now for their farewell," said funeral home owner Carolyn Whigham.

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

The hearse that carried Houston's body from an airport to the Whigham Funeral Home came into Newark under the cloak of darkness, in the middle of the night, denying local folks another opportunity to grieve publicly.

Police met with church officials Tuesday to discuss logistics and how to handle the large crowds expected to gather Saturday in the streets outside the New Hope Baptist Church, about a mile from the funeral home.

In Newark, perennially ranked among the nation's poorest and most dangerous cities, a public memorial at taxpayer expense is a tricky proposition. New Jersey's largest city, at more than 270,000 residents, laid off more than 160 police officers in November. The dismal school system is relying on a large grant from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg for salvation.

And whether the megastar's estate would pick up any slack for a memorial is up for debate. The singer failed to fulfill a $100 million recording deal in 2001 that reportedly called for six records. Since then, only four have come out, including a greatest hits collection that was not released in the United States. She lost two homes to foreclosure several years ago.

Newark's quandary is similar to the decisions Los Angeles had to make when Michael Jackson, another pop superstar brought down before his time, died in 2009. A public memorial at the Staples Center, a professional sports arena, cost taxpayers about $3 million but pumped a million more than that into the local economy through hotel stays, restaurants and other businesses, according to a city report.

In Los Angeles, it has become a tradition that whenever a major celebrity dies, fans lay flowers and other gestures of sorrow and tribute on the deceased's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Houston had no star, leaving Angelenos with nowhere in particular to express their grief.

The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, which manages the Walk of Fame, explained that Houston was selected for a star in 1995, but a date was never requested by the singer's representatives for an unveiling ceremony. That selection expired in 2000, it said, but can be reconsidered if desired by the family.

Gospel singer Marvin Winans, a Grammy Award winner and longtime family friend, has been chosen to give the eulogy in Newark, his son, Marvin Jr., and Winans' office at Perfecting Faith Church in Detroit told The Associated Press.

Winans, in his role as a pastor, married Houston and fellow singer Bobby Brown in 1992; the couple later divorced. The Winans and Houston families have been friends for years, and Houston performed with Winans' siblings CeCe and BeBe, members of one of gospel music's most prominent families.

Houston was especially close to CeCe and BeBe Winans and performed with both. She and CeCe Winans sang "Count on Me," for the movie "Waiting to Exhale," in which Houston starred.

In a show of support for the local community and in lieu of flowers, Houston's family asked Tuesday that any donations in her memory be sent to the Whitney Houston Academy of Creative and Performing Arts, a public school in East Orange serving students in kindergarten through eighth grade.

Houston attended the school as a girl, when it was named the Franklin School, and regularly visited for many years afterward. On Monday, students held an outdoor service in her memory.

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

Gov. Chris Christie ordered flags flown at half-staff Saturday at state government buildings, describing Houston as a "cultural icon" who belongs 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.

[idebbi]

i'm going to say the same thing i say whenever someone dies and people feel compelled to 'create a memorial' to them by leaving flowers and toys and candles etc at a location....take the money you would spend and donate it to a charity in that person's name....it will do a lot more good than just another soggy little bear sitting in the rain, which will eventually be thrown in the garbage

[mari1963]

Rest in Peace Whitney. Sing some beautiful hymns in heaven. We will miss you.

[RealiteBites]

Wow, Whitney doesn't have a star on the Walk of Fame?

You know who's got one, is Ryan Seacrest - when you consider what it means for Whitney to not have one, against who does, that just doesn't seem right, does it? :/

[robert1129]

The headline is crazy, "Few places to mourn whitney??"

What is wrong with the person wanting to mourn just going to his/her place of worship and saying some prayers for the lady? Mourning there?

[TLUnrine1]

Want to grieve and remember Whitney Houston, petition Romney to not have his Mormon Church baptize her as a Mormon in a Temple - many dead celebrities have been baptized Mormons within months of their deaths.

Romney may not be the voice of his cult, but he is the most visible image. He can issue a statement for all Mormons to honor Whitney BY NOT baptizing her soul into Mormonism..

If he won't issue a public statement, should we really vote for such a low life who would have Whitney's soul "partying" in Mormon heaven with the likes of Josepf Mengele, Adolf Hitler, and probably even James Earl Ray himself.

Insulting.

[pdthornton51]

Another one bites the dust. It's so pathetic the way people act when someone like this dies. You would have thought she was a goddess of something like that. She could sing, so what. Do people honor our fallen service members like this? No they don't. Or the child who is dying of cancer? No they don't. Give it another week or so and she'll be gone in history and another new quirk will replace her.

[timseanc]

'Grieving' is something that should be reserved for those close to you - like family and friends.

[USMCveteran]

Wow GrizzlyBearsRule and deoppressoliber1964 you tough guys rule! Beating up on a dead person just makes you guys look so freakin tough I'm gonna swoon here.