The Jackson family has publicly thanked the fans and mourners who attended MICHAEL JACKSON’s burial ceremony in California on Thursday night (03Sep09), insisting they helped to sustain the famous clan following the death of the King of Pop.
The pop superstar was finally laid to rest in The Great Mausoleum at Glendale Forest Lawn Memorial Park, where famous friends like Macauley Culkin, Elizabeth Taylor, Corey Feldman, Berry Gordy, Quincy Jones and the singer’s first wife Lisa Marie Presley joined 200 guests for an outdoor ceremony.
Fans were kept away from the funeral home by security, but the fact they even turned out to be a part of the farewell touched the Jacksons.
A statement released overnight reads, “The Jackson Family wishes to once again thank all of Michael’s fans around the world for their generous outpouring of support during this terribly difficult time. Their expressions of love for Michael and his music have sustained the Jackson Family.”
During the ceremony, Pastor Lucius Smith read from Ecclesiastes 3:7 and Gladys Knight sang the gospel hymn His Eye Is on the Sparrow.
Songwriter Clifton Davis sang The Jackson 5 song Never Can Say Goodbye, which he wrote for the group.
Speakers at the fond farewell included Jackson’s father Joseph and Rev. Al Sharpton.