John Travolta's Florida thanks

John Travolta and wife Kelly Preston have thanked the people of Florida for supporting them following the death of their teenage son.

The couple issued a letter to the people of Ocala - where 16-year-old Jett's funeral was held last week, at the couple's holiday home - through their attorney Michael McDermott, thanking them for their help during an "impossibly painful situation".

They wrote: From the people who drove hours to drop off cards and flowers at our doorstep, to the service providers who made Jett's ceremony so beautiful, thank you
The letter reads: "The enormous amount of love, support and condolence we have received from this community has been most humbling. Comforting words, thoughts and prayers of Ocala's citizens have made an impossibly painful situation a little less painful."

John and Kelly - who also have eight-year-old daughter Ella - also praised the community for allowing them to grieve for Jett in private.

It continues: "The actions of Ocala's community leaders, its law enforcement professionals, our neighbours at Jumbolair and its surrounding communities have offered us the dignity to grieve the loss of our son and Ella's brother in peace. For this we will always be grateful."

Fans and well-wishers gathered outside the gates of the family's home when the funeral of Jett - who died on January 2 after suffering a seizure while the family were on holiday in the Bahamas - took place, with many leaving flowers and notes offering their condolences.

John and Kelly were touched by the outpouring of emotion in the community and were keen to let the public know just how much it meant to them.

They wrote: "From the people who drove hours to drop off cards and flowers at our doorstep, to the service providers who made Jett's ceremony so beautiful, thank you. By sharing our grief, you lessen our burden. For all of the people who have kept Jett in their prayers, know that those prayers have given us inspiration and strength."What we have experienced in Ocala transcends neighbourly civility. We have been treated as family. Although we lost a good part of the joy and radiance of our family, your embracing us as a member of your own has helped us to contend with our loss."

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Grieving Star: John Travolta pulls out of Golden Globe awards

JOHN TRAVOLTA has pulled out of the Golden Globe awards.

The actor, whose new movie Bolt is nominated for a Best Animation gong, was scheduled to attend the glittering ceremony at the Beverly Hilton.

But following the tragic death of his 16-year-old son JETT, on January 2, the grieving star has pulled out.

The teenager was cremated last Monday and a memorial service was held on Thursday.

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Private Memorial Service for Jett Travolta

Friends and relatives of John Travolta and his wife Kelly Preston gathered Thursday at his central Florida home for a memorial service to honour 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.

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 omelette, read: "Condolences to John and Kelly."

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."

It was unclear whether any celebrity friends were attending the service. 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.

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."

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Lisa Marie Presley speaks out in support of Scientology

Lisa Marie Presley has spoken out in support of Scientology in the wake of Jett Travolta's death.

The daughter of the late Elvis Presley rubbishes claims that people following the religion do not believe in medical care.

‘Just like anyone else, if one is sick, they go to the doctor,’ she writes on her blog.

'If a medication will make it better then they take it.'

Lisa, 40, is close to John Travolta, 54, and his wife Kelly Preston, 46.

Their 16-year-old son Jett died in the Bahamas last week following a seizure.

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John Travolta to hold memorial for son Jett

Close friends and family will attend ceremony

John Travolta and Kelly Preston will pay tribute to their son Jett at a memorial service on Thursday.

The 16-year-old died after suffering a seizure at the family’s holiday home in the Bahamas last week.

John, who is a trained pilot, flew his boy's ashes home to Ocala, Florida, early yesterday.

It is thought the private ceremony will be for close friends and family.

Meanwhile, it has emerged John, 54, broke down in tears as he cradled his son in hospital.

He and Kelly also have 8-year-old daughter Ella.

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Travolta's son Jett likely to be buried in Florida

(AP) -- John Travolta says he and his wife, Kelly Preston, are "heartbroken" over the death of their chronically ill 16-year-old son, who collapsed at the family's vacation home on Grand Bahama.

Police Superintendent Basil Rahming has said a caretaker found Jett Travolta unconscious in a bathroom late Friday morning and he was later pronounced dead at a Freeport hospital. The youth was last seen entering the bathroom on Thursday, according to Rahming's police statement.

"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 Sunday in their first public statement since Jett's death.

"Jett was the most wonderful son that two parents could ever ask for and lit up the lives of everyone he encountered," said a statement posted Sunday on Travolta's Web site.

"We have received many messages of condolence from around the world and we want to thank everyone for their prayers and support. It has meant so much to us. It is a beautiful reminder of the inherent goodness in the human spirit that gives us hope for a brighter future."

Preston and Travolta have said that Jett became very sick when he was 2 years old and was diagnosed with Kawasaki Syndrome, an illness that leads to inflamed blood vessels in young children. Preston blamed household cleaners and fertilizers, and said that a detoxification program based on teachings from the Church of Scientology helped improve his health, according to People magazine. Others said Jett was prone to seizures.

Michael McDermott, an attorney for the actor, said Sunday that although Jett was last seen Thursday and found the following day, he doesn't believe that the teen was in the bathroom for a substantial amount of time.

"The police left the impression that the boy was unsupervised. No. There were two nannies with him for the entire evening," McDermott told The Associated Press. "They made it seem like he was sent to the condo and nobody checked in on him until the next morning."

"(Jett) was spectacularly supervised," said McDermott, who said he has not had the chance to talk to the two nannies himself.

McDermott said he had no knowledge of Jett's medical history but "understood he had a history of seizures." It is unclear whether Jett was taking medication for that.

The Bahamas' health minister, Dr. Hubert Minnis, has said that a second, U.S.-certified pathologist will fly in at dawn Monday to assist with the teenager's autopsy.

"I have spoken to (Travolta) and informed him that the government is doing everything it can," Minnis said Sunday, adding he could not disclose further specifics about the autopsy.

About a dozen security guards and Bahamian police officers patrolled Sunday around the luxury Old Bahama Bay resort community where Travolta and Preston remained inside their home. The white-sand beach in front of the suites was closed.

The couple also have an 8-year-old daughter, Ella Bleu.

Travolta, 54, is trying to finish funeral arrangements and hopes to fly his son's body to Florida by midweek, McDermott said. Travolta and Preston, 46, have a house in Ocala, Florida.

The Church of Scientology, established in 1945 by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, has attracted numerous celebrity followers, and among its more famed members is Travolta, who has long been one of Hollywood's biggest names.

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John Travolta's 16 year old son dead

John Travolta's teenage son, Jett, died in the Bahamas after falling ill and hitting his head at his family's vacation home, police said today. (Jan. 03)

A house caretaker found Jett, 16, unconscious in a bathroom late Friday morning. He was taken by ambulance to a Freeport hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to a statement from chief police superintendent Basil Rahming.

The teenager had last been seen going into the bathroom yesterday and had a history of seizures, according to the statement. Police said they are planning an autopsy to determine the cause of death.

Another police spokeswoman, Loretta Mackey, said Jett apparently hit his head on the bathtub.
A spokeswoman for Rand Memorial Hospital in Freeport said she could not release any information because of privacy concerns.

Jett was the oldest child of Travolta and his wife, actress Kelly Preston, who also have an 8-year-old daughter. The family arrived on a private plane on Tuesday and had been vacationing at their home in the Old Bahama Bay resort community.

"The Travolta family has become like family to us at Old Bahama Bay and we extend our deepest sympathies to them," said Robert Gidel, president of Ginn Resorts, the property's owner.

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