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Travoltas Hold Private Memorial for Son

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OCALA, Fla. -Friends and relatives of John Travolta and his wife Kelly Preston gathered Thursday at their central Florida home for a memorial service to honor the couple's 16-year-old son, Jett.

The couple lives in a sprawling $8 million home in a luxury subdivision with its own airstrip near this small town. Jett died at the family vacation home in Grand Bahama last week.

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More than a dozen reporters and photographers gathered outside the Jumbolair Aviation Estates subdivision hours before the afternoon event.

A steady stream of catering trucks and florists entered the complex Thursday. A handful of locals also stopped by out of curiosity or carried bouquets of flowers and handed them to guards at the subdivision's main gate.

"I wanted to help John celebrate his son's life and not necessarily his death," said 52-year-old Sherie Maud of Ocala, who brought a dozen red roses.

A sign outside the Saddle Rock cafe in town, where Travolta often stops for a western omelet, read: "Condolences to John and Kelly."

According to PEOPLE, Lisa Marie Presley, James Gandolfini, Kirstie Alley, Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, and Forest Whitaker were among Travolta's celebrity supporters.

The service for Jett was to adhere to the tenets of the actor's faith, Scientology, and celebrate the teen's life.

Tommy Davis, spokesman for the Church of Scientology International in Los Angeles, said Scientologist funerals or memorial services are more like a "celebration of their life, an acknowledgment of their life, and it's a way to wish them well in their future life.

Davis said Scientologists believe that a person is an immortal spiritual being, and one's spirit is reborn in another human body.

"The word reincarnation is a term often used loosely," Davis said. "We call it 'past lives' in the sense that one is living lifetime after lifetime."

Travolta, an avid pilot, bought the house because of the community airstrip and visitors can fly in and out without being seen by paparazzi, who have staked out the area for days.

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The Travoltas have spoken publicly only once since their son died. "We are heartbroken that our time with him was so brief. We will cherish the time we had with him for the rest of our lives," Travolta and Preston said in a statement Sunday.

Jett Travolta had a history of seizures and was found unconscious Friday in a bathroom.

Doctors in the Bahamas performed an autopsy Monday but did not release results. A Bahamas undertaker said the teen's death certificate listed "seizure" as the cause of death. The body was cremated Monday and flown to the U.S. the same night.

Earlier Thursday, Travolta's friend and fellow Scientologist Tom Cruise told ABC's "The View that Jett's death was "horrific."

"John just adored him, both of his children," Cruise said haltingly. "... It's something that I don't have the words for."

—

Associated Press writers Damian Grass and Lisa Orkin Emmanuel in Miami and AP Television Writer Frazier Moore in New York contributed to this report.

2009-01-08 23:02:43

Dan Steinberg, AP

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Lchristian1954

10:06 PMJan 16 2009

God Bless the Travolta's, we are not suppose to out live our children. I pray they pull through the hard times they will face in the future. They were a family who were not all over the news like Angelina/Brad, Paris Hilton, Linsey Lohen. They are a wholesome family. They deserve respect and our prayers..

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Nov Storm

05:44 PMJan 11 2009

Let me say this , njo one here knows a damn thing .about Jetts medical condition, you have NO idea what meds he was on period. So you are all just sitting here blowing hot air and guessing. Of couse the COS is not a religion, because you can be any religion you want to be aND Still belong to the COS.

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HOPEPEACELUV

03:33 PMJan 11 2009

Second, parents are required by law to get formal help by a qualifed physican for their minor children.to get formal required medication/help by a qualified medical professional

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HOPEPEACELUV

03:07 PMJan 11 2009

UserVick, I disagree with your thoughts about some of your post below. First, Scientology isn't a Religion it is a cult. Second, parents are required by law to get formal help by a qualifed physican for their minor children.363312:03 PMJan 11 2009A persons choice of religion is no ones business, we can all make our own choices to each his own. I am A christian, and I think God everyday that we have our own choices to make that decision, Thank God for America, my prayers are with the Travoltas, no matter what religion they are. I am proud to be an American and A christian, also I respect everybodies choice of there religion. My prayers are still with there family.

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HOPEPEACELUV

02:37 PMJan 11 2009

KReidy5504,http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1111057/Did-John -Travoltas- weird-faith-seal-son-Jetts-fate.htmlThanks for the share it was an extremely enloghtening article.

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UserVick3633

12:03 PMJan 11 2009

A persons choice of religion is no ones business, we can all make our own choices to each his own. I am A christian, and I think God everyday that we have our own choices to make that decision, Thank God for America, my prayers are with the Travoltas, no matter what religion they are. I am proud to be an American and A christian, also I respect everybodies choice of there religion. My prayers are still with there family.

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LauraC2468

07:47 AMJan 11 2009

It's too bad that travoltas didn't respect the wisdom of brother Joey who is a special education teacher and filmmaker who BEGGED THEM TO GET HELP for jett. What family takes their kid on a trip to another country when he's been having severe seizures ONCE A WEEK???? This is life-threatening and sadly, in jett's case, the final grand mal seizure did take his life. He didn't have to die if he'd had proper medical care. There are SO MANY options out there for seizure control; if one doesn't work, people always turn to another and sometimes even a combination to get seizure control. You just don't leave grand mal seizures alone. Oh, scuse me, the cult was doing toxin flushings from what I read.

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KReidy5504

06:29 PMJan 10 2009

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1111057/Did-John-Travoltas- weird-faith-seal-son-Jetts-fate.html Very enligtening article. I highly recommend reading it.

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HOPEPEACELUV

05:32 PMJan 10 2009

Nic071, Do the millions of Hindus, Muslims, and Buddhists all over the world know that?I don't know if they know or not.Nic071, yes, I would have figured that he was asked and didn't just start talking about it.

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Nic071

04:43 PMJan 10 2009

Any group/organization not following the Bible is a cult?! That is one of the craziest things I have read here. Do the millions of Hindus, Muslims, and Buddhists all over the world know that? Although it might not bother them since it is just HOPEPEACELUV's opinion.

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