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Whitney Houston Laid To Rest Sunday

WESTFIELD, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- 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 star-studded funeral to mourn her loss while celebrating her career.

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.

LISTEN: WCBS 880's Mike Xirinachs reports...

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Tents gave the grieving family members their privacy for this final ceremony. 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.

"She's going to God. We're not going to see her in the limelight anymore," fan Lisa Casado told CBS 2's Dave Carlin.

"Just the fact that her mother brought her back here back to her hometown where it all began at that's special to me," said Tiyanna Morris of Newark.

"I feel it's a closure now. It was complete because she brought the whole world, the United States, together in Newark, New Jersey," said Gloria Ross of Newark.

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 the 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."

The funeral was closed to fans  who were not allowed within blocks of the church. Still, many came to Newark to take part in what ways they could, some from as far as Miami and Washington, D.C.

Fans gathered again near the funeral home Sunday morning, and some even slowly ran alongside the hearse as it began the journey to Houston's gravesite. Several yelled out "We love you, Whitney" as the hearse, which had a black and white headshot of the star in a window, slowly drove away.

Barbara Davis, 53, of Newark, said she had been waiting outside the funeral home since 8:30 a.m., hoping to get a glimpse of Houston's final trip.

"To be here at her home-going is an honor and a blessing," Davis told The Star-Ledger of Newark.

Also among the crowd was Newark resident Eva Aquino and her two granddaughters, ages 10 and 13. All three stood on a street corner as the hearse passed by, and they used cellphones to snap photos of the procession.

The girls were wearing T-shirts and buttons of Houston that their grandmother had bought from vendors outside the funeral home Saturday.

"We came here and bought all these things of her to cherish the memories," said 13-year-old Nalani Velez of Kearny.

You may share your final thoughts on Whitney Houston in our comments section below...

(TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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