Barbara Sinatra Memorialized During Palm Desert Service, Buried Next To Husband

PALM DESERT, CA — Longtime Coachella Valley resident and philanthropist Barbara Sinatra, the fourth and final wife of Frank Sinatra, was eulogized by several famous friends Tuesday afternoon at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Palm Desert before being laid to rest next to the entertainer.

Actor Dick Van Dyke and comedian Tom Dreesen gave readings during the funeral Mass, which was open to the public and included eulogies by actor Robert Wagner, John E. Thoresen of the Barbara Sinatra Children's Center Foundation and Sinatra's granddaughter, Carina Blakeley Marx.

Sinatra, who died of natural causes at her Rancho Mirage home last Tuesday at the age of 90, was then buried next to her husband during a private ceremony at Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City.

"In all the years I knew Barbara Sinatra, anything I ever asked her for, she never turned me down," Dreesen told mourners before taking a lighthearted shot at the desert heat. "I wish that I would have asked her to live 10 more years and then pass away in the winter."

Wagner recalled a story of Sinatra scaling a water tower in her native Missouri and admiring the view of the trains traveling off into the distance.

"She said to herself, `There must be something else out there.' There was. I'm so very, very grateful that she climbed that tower. May God bless you, Barbara," Wagner said.

Blakeley Marx said her grandmother "was just a person like every single one of us. She was incredible ... She was an inspiration and she will continue to be an inspiration for the rest of my life."

The onetime model and Las Vegas showgirl tied the knot with the famed crooner in 1976 at Walter Annenberg's Rancho Mirage estate, the first of only three couples to be married at what is now known as Sunnylands. They traveled the world together until his death in 1998.

In 1985, the couple began raising funds to establish the Barbara Sinatra Center for Abused Children in Rancho Mirage, which advocates for children suffering the effects of physical, sexual or emotional abuse. The nonprofit center on the Eisenhower Medical Center campus also focuses on prevention, community education and breaking the generational cycle of abuse. It has provided treatment for more than 20,000 children through age 18 since its inception, according to Thoresen.

Sinatra chaired the children's center's Board of Directors and advocated on behalf of abused children throughout the United States and abroad. She also served on the Board of Trustees of the Princess Grace Foundation.

In 2016, the Barbara Sinatra Children's Center Foundation developed a series of animated videos entitled "The Protect Yourself Rules" for children in grades K-6. The videos are distributed to teachers, school counselors, after-school programs and parents, free of charge. In the past 11 months, the program has been shown to more than 700,000 children throughout the United States and in many foreign countries, according to Thoresen.

A 2011 book,"Lady Blue Eyes ... My Life with Frank," details Sinatra's humble beginnings in Missouri, her life with her iconic husband and her philanthropic efforts.

Born Barbara Blakeley in Bosworth, Missouri, her father Willis owned Blakeley's General Store on Bosworth's Main Street. When she was 18, her family moved to Long Beach and she married Robert Oliver and began her modeling career. Following their divorce, she wed actor-comedian Zeppo Marx in 1959 in Las Vegas and they settled in Palm Springs, where she began her journey as an activist for children's causes.

Sinatra also maintained homes in Beverly Hills and Malibu.

In addition to her granddaughter, she is survived by her son, Robert Marx, and daughter-in-law Hillary Roberts.

— By City News Service

Image credit: Michael Buckner / Getty Images Entertainment / Getty Images.