Melissa Rivers said goodbye to her mother’s body today, as Joan Rivers was taken in a casket covered in flowers from Frank E. Campbell Funeral Home. As the casket was being carried out of the funeral home and put into a hearse, Melissa and her son, Cooper, 13, walked slowly behind. According to The New York Post , eight pallbearers transported the coffin around 10 o’clock this morning.
This is one of the first times that Melissa has been seen since her mom passed away on Thursday, September 4. This has been a very emotional time for Melissa, after making the heartbreaking decision to take her mom off of life support. Today was another emotional day, which you can easily see in the video above.
As Melissa Rivers approached the casket, she placed her hand over her mouth. It was easy to see that she was crying, despite the dark sunglasses she wore to conceal her tears. As Melissa bent over to kiss her mom’s casket, Cooper placed his hand on his mom’s back. The moment was so sweet yet it is so heartbreaking to watch.
According to TMZ , Joan Rivers’ body is being transported to a crematorium in New Jersey . It is no surprise that Joan’s body is being cremated, given the fact that she had her husband’s body cremated when he passed away. Joan often took Edgar Rosenberg’s ashes with her places, even once on David Letterman. Joan famously rubbed some of the ashes under Dave’s desk.
As previously reported by The Inquisitr , a memorial service for Joan will take place tomorrow, Sunday, at Temple Emanu-El. While the funeral is expected to be private, there will more than likely be dozens of celebrities in attendance to pay their respects to Joan and show their support for Mel. Many — such as Giuliana Rancic and her husband Bill — have already arrived in New York (of course many celebrities are in the city for Fashion Week, which is ironic, given Joan’s job on Fashion Police ).
Melissa Rivers has received an overwhelming amount of support over the past week and a half. No one could have ever predicted such a thing. Melissa was an only child and her mom was truly her best friend. The loss is completely devastating and it’s going to take some time for Mel to heal. She has thanked everyone for the love several times.
Joan Rivers was 81-years-old.
[Photo courtesy of YouTube screen capture]
