Heli Toikka from Kotka came to work for Houston through a limousine firm in 1994, taking up an assistant’s job at Houston’s production company for four years.
“First of all, Whitney was very fair to all of us then. When we met, she was businesslike and friendly,” Toikka told YLE.
News of the singer’s death was a real shock to Toikka even though over a decade has passed since her return to Finland.
Houston, whose major hits included "I Will Always Love You", "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" and "Saving All My Love for You", died in a hotel room in Beverly Hills on Saturday on the eve of Grammy Awards. The cause of her death remains unknown.