By Mark Kennedy
Dionne Warwick, BeBe Winans, Darlene Love and a massive choir helped celebrate the life of gospel icon Cissy Houston during a music-filled memorial Thursday in the Duchess of Gospel’s hometown of Newark.
The ceremony at New Hope Baptist Church — where Houston was a congregant and choir leader for decades — was decorated with framed photos of Houston and her coffin was placed in front of the pulpit. The church also held daughter Whitney Houston’s funeral more than a decade ago.
“She gave so much. She gave me the right to be me,” said Warwick, 83, the 91-year-old Houston’s niece. “Cissy, I’m going to miss you.”
Houston, a two-time Grammy-winning soul and gospel artist who sang with Aretha Franklin and Elvis Presley, died Oct. 7. In her honor, her oldest son, Gary, sang “Freedom” and Love sang “It Is Well with My Soul.”
A portrait emerged from the speakers of a woman
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