Aretha Franklin's funeral expected to be multiple day event in Detroit

DETROIT (WJBK) - There is preliminary information about the visitation and funeral for The Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin.

According to an initial plan, a celebration of her life will take place for multiple days in Detroit, her hometown where she died Thursday after a lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer. She was 76.

We are hearing her body will likely lie in repose at the Charles H. Wright Museum for African American History for two days. Then her funeral will be held at Greater Grace Temple just for friends and family, according to TMZ. A date for the funeral at the church has not yet been given, and it's not known yet if it will be open to the public.

A memorial concert is also in the works.

The same farewell was given to civil rights icon Rosa Parks in 2005. Her body lied in repose at the museum, followed by her funeral at Greater Grace Temple. Thousands came to pay their respects, and the same is anticipated for Franklin.

Franklin was born in Memphis, Tenn. on March 25, 1942. Her family made Detroit their home just a few short years later and she grew up singing in her dad's house of worship, New Bethel Baptist Church on Linwood. Fans have been paying their respect by leaving balloons and flowers outside the church.

Franklin's records sold millions of copies and the music industry couldn't honor her enough. She won 18 Grammy awards. In 1987, she became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in 2005 she was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's greatest honor.