DETROIT (AP) -- The funeral home providing services for Aretha Franklin says the legendary singer paid the expenses of many families who could not afford to bury their loved ones.
Linda Swanson, executive vice president of Swanson Funeral Home in Detroit, said Tuesday her family has long been close with the Franklin family. She says it was nothing for Franklin to call the funeral home and take care of families in financial need - "usually in full without being asked or prompted to do so."
Swanson says many people attending Franklin's two-day public viewing at a Detroit museum "are here because they were blessed by her big heart and her desire to reach beyond the boundaries of her own success and touch others."
Sixty-four-year Detroit resident Cheryl Matthews attended the viewing and says it was "fit for a Queen." She says while she never met Franklin, it felt like she could be a sister or an aunt because "she's always been here."
Franklin died Aug. 16 at age 76 of pancreatic cancer.
