Desert Memorial Park

Desert Memorial Park is a cemetery in Cathedral City, California, United States, near Palm Springs.[2] Opening in 1956 and receiving its first interment in 1957,[3] it is maintained by the Palm Springs Cemetery District.[4] The District also maintains the Welwood Murray Cemetery in Palm Springs.[5]

Desert Memorial Park
Details
EstablishedOctober 31, 1956
Location
Cathedral City, California
CountryUnited States
Coordinates33°49′04″N 116°26′34″W[1]
TypePublic
Owned byPalm Springs Cemetery District
WebsiteOfficial Site
Find a GraveDesert Memorial Park
The Political GraveyardDesert Memorial Park

LGBTQ Veterans Memorial
The California LGBTQ Veterans Memorial dedicated April 27, 2019, by the State of California
The original plaque below the California LGBTQ Veterans Memorial that was dedicated May 27, 2001, by AMVETS Post 66

In 2001, American Veterans Post 66 dedicated a memorial at the cemetery honoring all LGBTQ veterans.[6] In 2018, the state passed California Assembly Bill 2439 designating the memorial as California's official LGBTQ veterans memorial. In recognition, a second plaque was affixed to the monument. The memorial is an obelisk of South Dakotan mahogany granite with the logo of American Veterans for Equal Rights on it.[7]

Notable interments

Among those buried here are:[8]

  • Chris Alcaide (1923–2004), actor[8]
  • Dorothy Arnold (1917–1984), actress
  • William Milton Asher (1921–2012), American television and film producer, director, and screenwriter
  • Busby Berkeley (1895–1976), motion picture director and musical choreographer
  • Sonny Bono (1935–1998, born Salvatore Phillip Bono), record producer, singer (one half of the husband-wife duo Sonny & Cher), actor, politician
  • Lorayne Brox (1901–1993), one of the Brox Sisters singing group
  • Bob Cobert (1924–2020), television music composer
  • Lawrence L. Crossley (1899–1962), Palm Springs businessman, pioneer, and first black resident[8]
  • Velma Wayne Dawson (1912–2007), puppeteer and creator of Howdy Doody[8]
  • Brad Dexter (1917–2002), actor and film producer
  • Alex Dreier (1916–2000), broadcaster and actor[8]
  • Jolie Gabor (1896–1997), mother of the Gabor sisters
  • Magda Gabor (1915–1997), one of the Gabor sisters[8]
  • Louis Galen (1925–2007), philanthropist and banker[8]
  • Neva Gerber (1894–1974), silent film actress
  • Bill Goodwin (1910–1958), television announcer[8]
  • Irving Green (1916–2006), founder of Mercury Records[8]
  • Earle Hagen (1919–2008), composer[8]
  • Claude Harmon (1916–1989), golfer[8]
  • Howard Hesseman (1940–2022), actor
  • Josephine Hill (1899–1989), actress
  • Roy W. Hill (1899–1986), philanthropist
  • Eddy Howard (1915–1963), singer[8]
  • Betty Hutton (1921–2007), singer and actress[8]
  • Jennings Lang (1915–1996), film producer
  • Andrea Leeds (1914–1984), actress
  • Benjamin Lees (1924–2010), composer[8]
  • Diana "Mousie" Lewis (1919–1997), actress
  • Monica Lewis (1922–2015), actress and singer
  • Frederick Loewe (1901–1988), composer[8]
  • Marian Marsh (1913–2006), actress[8]
  • David J. McDonald (1902–1979), labor leader
  • Maurice "Mac" McDonald (1902–1971), co-founder, with brother Dick, of the original McDonald's chain
  • Cameron Mitchell (1918–1994), actor
  • Hugo Mario Montenegro (1925–1981), orchestra leader and composer
  • John J. Phillips (1887–1983), United States Congressman[8]
  • William Powell (1892–1984), actor and associate producer[8]
  • William David Powell (1925–1968), TV writer[8]
  • Marjorie Rambeau (1889–1970), actress
  • Rebel Randall (1921–2010, born Alaine C. Brandes), American actress
  • Pete Reiser (1919–1981), baseball player
  • Jilly Rizzo (1917–1992), restaurateur and entertainer[8]
  • Frank Scully (1892–1964) author, journalist, humorist, and columnist
  • Ginny Simms (aka, Virginia E. Eastvold) (1913–1994), actress[8]
  • Anthony Martin Sinatra (1892–1969), professional boxer, bar owner and the father of Frank Sinatra
  • Barbara Sinatra (1926–2017), model and showgirl, wife of Frank Sinatra[8]
  • Dolly Sinatra (1896–1977), mother of Frank Sinatra
  • Frank Sinatra (1915–1998), singer and actor[8]
  • Suzanne Somers (1946–2023), actress
  • Shirley Spork (1927–2022), golfer
  • Jimmy Van Heusen (1913–1990, born Edward C. Babcock), American composer
  • Philip "Mickey" Weintraub (1907–1987), MLB player
  • Ralph Young (1923–2008), singer and actor[8]

See also
  • Coachella Valley Public Cemetery
  • Forest Lawn Cemetery (Cathedral City) – across Ramon Road from Desert Memorial Park
  • List of cemeteries in Riverside County, California
  • List of cemeteries in California

References
  1. "USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS)". Archived from the original on 2021-07-19. Retrieved 2011-09-29.
  2. Brooks, Patricia; Brooks, Jonathan (2006). "Chapter 8: East L.A. and the Desert". Laid to Rest in California: a guide to the cemeteries and grave sites of the rich and famous. Guilford, CT: Globe Pequot Press. pp. 238–245. ISBN 978-0762741014. OCLC 70284362.
  3. The Palm Springs Cemetery District itself was covers 504 square miles, including Palm Springs, Cathedral City, Desert Hot Springs, Thousand Palms, and Rancho Mirage. See: Robinson, Nancy (1992). Palm Springs History Handbook. Palm Springs, CA: Palm Springs Public Library. p. 7. OCLC 31595834.
  4. The Palm Springs Cemetery District is a Special District established under California's Special District Law. See: Kimia Mizany and April Manatt, California Senate Local Government Committee, What's So Special About Special Districts? A Citizen's Guide to Special Districts in California (Third Edition) Archived 2011-07-04 at the Wayback Machine 2002
  5. "Palm Springs Cemetery District". Archived from the original on 2011-08-02. Retrieved 2011-06-30.
  6. "National LGBT Veterans Memorial". www.gayveteransmemorial.com. 2011–2012. Archived from the original on 2019-01-19. Retrieved 2019-09-11.
  7. Ring, Trudy (2018). "California Becomes First State to Honor LGBTQ Veterans". Advocate.com. Archived from the original on 2020-02-20. Retrieved 2018-08-22.
  8. "Palm Springs Cemetery District, 'Interments of Interest'" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-09-26. Retrieved 2011-06-30.
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