PROFILBARU.COM

Desert Memorial Park
Desert Memorial Park
Details
Established	October 31, 1956
Location	Cathedral City, California
Country	United States
Coordinates	33°49′04″N 116°26′34″W / 33.8177965°N 116.4427901°W
Type	Public
Owned by	Palm Springs Cemetery District
Website	Official Site
Find a Grave	Desert Memorial Park
The Political Graveyard	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]

LGBTQ Veterans Memorial

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 (1913–1984), 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]

References

^ "USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS)". Archived from the original on 2021-07-19. Retrieved 2011-09-29.
^ 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.
^ 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.
^ 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
^ "Palm Springs Cemetery District". Archived from the original on 2011-08-02. Retrieved 2011-06-30.
^ "National LGBT Veterans Memorial". www.gayveteransmemorial.com. 2011–2012. Archived from the original on 2019-01-19. Retrieved 2019-09-11.
^ 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.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x "Palm Springs Cemetery District, 'Interments of Interest'" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-09-26. Retrieved 2011-06-30.