The funeral for the slain members of Jennifer Hudson’s family was held yesterday, where 2,500 mourners showed up to show their respect at the open coffin service.
Understandably, no media were allowed during the service and only invited guests attended.
Before the service began, Hudson left her second row seat to pay her respects to her murdered family members. She first stopped by 7-year-old Julian’s white coffin, who was dressed in all white. She then moved to her mother and gently touched her then lightly kissed her before moving on to her brother, where she paused before returning to her seat.
Hudson’s fiance and reality star, David “Punk” Otunga, and sister Julia sat with Hudson where they supported one another.
Halfway through the service, Fantasia Barrino, Hudson’s American Idol competition, performed an emotional “Your Grace and Mercy,” while holding Jennifer’s hand and singing directly to her.
Family friend Glover Lewis told the Chicago Tribune, “Jennifer is the pillar. It’s obvious she’s holding the family together.”
I lost my sister in 2005, when she was only 38 years old, to a car accident. Surviving that service is tough…watching your mother suffer, with silent tears, her baby gone forever. It’s beyond painful. To have to do it with three members of your family, and after such a horrific way of losing them, it’s unimaginable. My heart goes out to Jennifer and her family. It’s a long walk to peace. I’m sure that she will be held by friends and family but it’s still a long journey to remembering without constant pain. God bless them….