Aretha Franklin's grandchildren, niece, nephew speak at funeral service

[Music] hello how are you I remember when I was a kid people used to always ask me what does it feel like to be a wreath of Franklin's granddaughter and I'd always shrug my shoulders and go I don't know it's just my grandma and at that young I didn't really understand what that really meant I knew she was someone special I knew she was someone important but I didn't really understand how big it was as a kid I've seen some of the greatest things I've met some of the greatest people and it was crazy because these amazing people were excited to meet me and when I would go to her shows and watch her sing it would be the best feeling in the world nothing sounded better to me than the way my grandma sings her voice made you feel something you felt every word every note every emotion in the song she's saying her voice brought peace and watching her onstage from a young age to the last performance I saw her at I knew that performing was something I was born to do as a kid I couldn't understand what it was like to be a wreath of Franklin's granddaughter but I did know oh I didn't know what that meant but now I know what it feels like it feels amazing to see a woman so fierce so courageous gifted so respected and to be able to call that my grandmother to know that I have that running through my blood and that she's a part of who I am [Applause] [Music] and to know that she's a part of who I am there's nothing like that every time I learned something new about my grandma I see that I have so much of her in me and it makes me smile I'm so proud to have had someone like her in my life to pave the way for me I love you grandma and I will make you proud [Applause] [Music] good afternoon everybody I prepare something from my grandmother that I wanted to share with everybody dear grandma I love you I know in my heart that you're happy now and that's all that I care about no amount of words can articulate what you mean to me grandma thank you for loving me thank you for believing to me as much as you did and thank you for always putting a family first and showing us the right way to handle success I'm sad today because I'm losing my friend but I know that the imprint she left on this world can never be removed you show the world God's love and there's nothing more honorable I'm so proud of you I know you'd be watching me from the windows and heavy and I promise to carry our family legacy we'll pride and joy long live the Queen I just want to first start out by saying I think each and every person that's sitting in this auditorium I think each and every person who stood in line to see my honor African American Museum at New Bethel Church I want to thank everyone who bought our album who bought a concert ticket I want to thank everyone who ever took a picture of mine who ever wrote an article about my and whoever loved every last song that she wrote when I was born in 73 she always was the queen she was already the queen of song had won eight Grammys had top-ten hits on the top 100 but to me she was just my my father's sister and I was her namesake I was given the name crystal Robin Aretha I was named after my mother's younger sister and my father's famous sister my Robin never let her to forget that her name came first but Aretha would laugh and say they saved the best for last to the world she was known as the Queen of Soul but to me she was just my the one who gave birth to my first Road Dogg health my I who came to live with us at the age of six with my uncle vine who I had no idea was a big movie star the aunt who sunk at my high school grade graduation taught me my bad shopping habits and took her granddaughters my daughter's an eye to see Disney on Ice my aunt who taught me that emeralds were more more than diamonds when we shot for my graduation gift that I'm wearing today my idea gave me my open house for college and cook dinner for my roommate at night when she came to visit Detroit for spring break my aunt who had a picture of my best friend and I on her piano for over 20 years the one who listened to me when I told her she had to have Jill Scott and Mary Jane on her diva special and she had to go on Wendy my aunt who chartered a bus so so our family could go to President President Obama's inauguration and made sure I was front and center for the swearing-in the one who taught me the importance of capturing every moment with a picture or two and after every award ceremony she was my Gossip Girl the one who could bring grown women and men to tears was this from the sound of her voice in the O'Neill personal earth that could call me Chrissy I will be forever grateful for every road trip every person I ever met through my aunt and I'm grateful for most of all that she had a loving brother who loved my mom they got married and made me an intern I made my daughter Brooklyn who is now graduating from Howard this year and that's all possible because of my eye one of the most important things to our family is education my daughter goes to Howard and victory goes to Howard too and their children will continue the legacy of education because I will continue in my family name of doing the foundation so that children will never forget who my aunt was never forget who my grandfather was never forget my aunt Carolyn never forget my aunt Irma never forget my father and never forget my uncle Vaughn and again I just want to say to everyone sitting here everyone watching in the world thank you [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] I was once told that love is a verb you can tell a person that you love them but in the end it is what you show them that matters my aunt loved as much and as hard as she could as I thought about what I was going to say when I stood up here today I thought about how much my family and I loved our mother our grandmother our auntie the matriarch and a pillar of the Franklin family I asked myself how do you say goodbye to someone that you just loved so much someone who has been with you for all of your adult life someone who took you under their wings and loved you like a son after the death of your parents someone who is there for you through the good times and the bad times and someone who could make you smile with the simple hello over the past few months I spent a lot of time traveling back and forth from a land to Detroit to help take care of my auntie in any way that I could during those visits she and I talked about the importance of family and we would even cook together when I was with my auntie in July at her apartment in downtown Detroit she and I were talking and she paused for a moment in the middle of the conversation and asked Frankie what do you think I knew what she was talking about but how do you find the words to tell someone that you love so much that you can see her health and her physical statue declining each time that you saw her at that moment I knew and understood that she was aware that her final days were near I started my remarks by asking how do you say goodbye to someone that you love so much we're not saying goodbye auntie but farewell until we see you again and our final resting place thank you [Applause]

Channel: Click On Detroit | Local 4 | WDIV

Views: 1,408,489

Keywords: Aretha Franklin's grandchildren speak at funeral service

Id: y2VtHKyrQaA

Length: 10min 44sec (644 seconds)

Published: Fri Aug 31 2018