Weekend of mourning for Houston ends

WESTFIELD, N.J. - Whitney Houston was laid to rest Sunday at a brief private ceremony in New Jersey, the end of a weekend that saw the pop star's family and friends gather at a funeral to mourn her loss while celebrating her career.

Fans and onlookers gathered in several places along the route the motorcade took from the Newark funeral home to the cemetery about 20 miles away in Westfield, where Houston was buried next to her father, who died in 2003.

The 48-year-old singer died Feb. 11 in California, hours before she was to attend a pre-Grammy Awards party. No cause of death has been determined.

On Saturday, she was mourned at an invitation-only funeral at the church in Newark where she sang in the choir as a child. She was remembered by the biggest names in music: Stevie Wonder and Alicia Keys sang, and industry mogul Clive Davis was among those who spoke, as was Kevin Costner, Houston's co-star in The Bodyguard.

Fans gathered near the funeral home Sunday morning, and some moved slowly alongside the hearse as it began the journey to Houston's grave site. Several yelled out "We love you, Whitney" as the hearse, which had a portrait of the star in a window, drove away.

Barbara Davis, 53, of Newark, said she had been waiting outside the funeral home since 8:30 a.m. "To be here at her home-going is an honor and a blessing," Davis told the Star-Ledger of Newark.