Spartan Times

Goodbye Whitney Houston

By April Myers, Editor In-Chief

Whitney Houston died on February 11, 2012 at the age of 48 years old.  Whitney Houston left behind her 18 year old daughter Bobbi Kristina.

According to www.msn.com her funeral was held on February 18^th at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey.  This was an invitation only funeral.  This church is the same church that she used to sing in when she was a child. There is no plan for a public memorial service at this time.

The funeral home owner, Carolyn Whigham, said, “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.”

The Governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie ordered the flags to be flown at half-staff.  By doing this Governor Christie is saying that Houston is a cultural icon like Frank Sinatra and Bruce Springsteen.

With Houston’s death the family is accepting donations to the Whitney Houston Academy of Creative and Performing Arts.  This organization helps children become contributing members of society now and into the future.

Whitney Houston was known for songs like “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” “How Will I Know” and “I Will Always Love You.”

Houston was found in a Beverly Hills hotel in California. She was supposed to perform at a pre-Grammy Awards bash for someone when she was found dead.  Whitney was known to have been struggling with drugs in the past but had been clean for a few years.

MSN.com stated that Houston was found underwater and was unconscious when they pulled her from a bathtub in her room.  The autopsy was done on February 12^th and it was said that there were no indications of foul play and no signs of trauma.  At the time of the MSN article they were still waiting on the toxicology screens.

In an article by Hollywood Reporter website said that there were warning signs that something was wrong on February 9^th.  People reported her being “disheleved”.  They stated that she was wearing mismatched clothing, had dripping wet hair and was doing handstands on the edge of the pool.

Hollywood Reporter website said, “Her publicist stated she was at a spa on February 10^th.”  But she was found at 3:30 pm on February 11^th at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

CNN said that Whitney Houston married Bobby Brown in 1992 and then they divorce in 2007.  They had a daughter together named Bobbi who is having a great deal of trouble dealing with her mother’s death.  It has been reported that she has already been in the hospital several times for things like exhaustion.

In the CNN article they said that the Los Angeles coroner is seeking Whitney Houston’s medical records as well as her prescriptions.  It could take as long as six to eight weeks to get back any of the toxicology screens.

The National Enquirer somehow got a hold of a photo from Whitney Houston’s funeral and put it on the cover of their magazine. Whitney Houston couldn’t even rest in peace at her own funeral because of this sick need for the magazine’s ratings.

Many think that they went too far in doing this.  What’s your opinion was it too far?  Is it a violation of her family’s privacy?  If it was your funeral would you want this picture out there for the public to see?

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