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September 5, 2018
A Memorial Fit for a Queen
Honoring
Aretha Franklin
Pallbearers carry the
gold casket of legendary
singer Aretha Franklin on
Friday after arriving for
her funeral at the Greater
Grace Temple in Detroit.
Franklin died Aug. 16 of
pancreatic cancer at the
age of 76.
(AP) -- An all-star lineup of
mourners filled a Detroit church
with prayers and songs Friday for
Aretha Franklin’s funeral, honor-
ing her not just as the Queen of
Soul but also as a lifelong friend,
family member, churchgoer and
activist.
Guests at the Greater Grace
Temple included former President
Bill Clinton, former first lady Hil-
lary Clinton, the Rev. Jesse Jack-
son, Stevie Wonder and Smokey
Robinson.
Robinson, the Motown great,
remembered first hearing her play
piano when he was just 8 and re-
maining close for the rest of her
life, talking for hours at a time.
“You’re so special,” he said, be-
fore crooning a few lines from his
song “Really Gonna Miss You.”
“Really gonna miss you, really
gonna be different without you,”
he sang.
The service encompassed many
elements, emotions and grand en-
trances that were hallmarks of her
more than six decades on sacred
and secular stages. It was a send-
off both grand and personal.
Ariana Grande sang one of the
Queen of Soul’s biggest hits, “(You
Make Me Feel Like) A Natural
Woman,” and Faith Hill performed
“What a Friend We Have In Jesus.”
The Aretha Franklin Orchestra
performed a medley featuring “I
Say a Little Prayer,” ‘’Angel” and
other songs the Queen of Soul was
known for, along with gospel num-
bers “I Love the Lord” and “Walk
in the Light.”
Barbara Sampson read a state-
ment from former President
George W. Bush, saying that
Franklin would continue to in-
spire future generations. The Rev.
Al Sharpton read a statement from
former President Barack Obama,
who wrote that Franklin’s “work
reflected the very best of the
American story.”
Sharpton received loud cheers
when he criticized President Don-
ald Trump for saying that the
singer “worked for” him as he
responded to her death. “She per-
formed for you,” Sharpton said of
Franklin, who had sung at Trump-
owned venues. “She worked for
us.”
Franklin died Aug. 16 at age 76.
Her body arrived for the service
in a 1940 Cadillac LaSalle hearse.
She wore a shimmering gold
dress, with sequined heels -- the
fourth outfit Franklin was clothed
in during a week of events leading
up to her funeral.
The casket was carried to the
church that also took Franklin’s
father, the renowned minister C.L.
Franklin, and civil rights pioneer
Rosa Parks to their final resting
places at Woodlawn Cemetery,
where the singer will join them.
Pink Cadillacs filled the street
outside the church, a reference
to a Franklin hit from the 1980s,
“Freeway of Love.”
Program covers showed a
young Franklin, with a slight
smile and sunglasses perched on
her nose, and the caption “A Cele-
bration Fit For The Queen.” Large
bouquets of pink, lavender, yellow
and white flowers flanked her cas-
ket.
Floral arrangements from sing-
ers such as Barbra Streisand and
Tony Bennett and from the family
of the late Otis Redding, whose
“Respect” Franklin transformed
and made her signature song,
were set up in a hallway outside
the sanctuary. An arrangement
from singer Sam Moore includ-
ed a card that read, “You know I
always adored and loved you to
bits and pieces ... Even when we
would fuss.”
Mayor Mike Duggan an-
nounced during the service Friday
that the city would rename the riv-
erfront amphitheater Chene Park
to “Aretha Franklin Park.” His
proposal was seconded by Brenda
James, city council president.
Family members, among them
granddaughter Victorie Franklin
and niece Cristal Franklin, spoke
with awe and affection as they
remembered a world-famous per-
former who also loved gossip and
kept pictures of loved ones on her
piano.