Sylvia Woods is outside her restaurant during its 40th anniversary on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2002. (AP Photo/Stuart Ramson)
MYFOXNY.COM -
Thousands of people turned out for the wake of Harlem restaurateur Sylvia Woods, who died last week at the age of 86.
The woman known as the 'Queen of Soul Food' grew a small luncheonette in the 1940s into a restaurant and catering hall and eventually launched a national line of food products.
She also published two cookbooks.
Woods' family said she had been suffering from Alzheimer's before she died.
The all-day viewing and wake on Tuesday took place at the Abyssinian Baptist Church on West 138th St. in Harlem from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Mourners filed past an open casket where she was laid out in a cream-colored brocade suit. The altar was adorned with white flowers including roses, orchids and calla lilies.
A service celebrating Woods' life followed the viewing.
A private funeral service is scheduled for Wednesday at Grace Baptist Church in Mount Vernon, N.Y., where Woods lived.
Rev. Al Sharpton is expected to deliver the eulogy.
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The Metropolitan Opera says it's decided to disband its resident ballet company.
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Sylvia Woods is outside her restaurant during its 40th anniversary on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2002. (AP Photo/Stuart Ramson)
