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Pierce Brothers Valley Oak Memorial Park. 
5600 Lindero Canyon Road, Westlake Village, Los Angeles.

" Final Resting Place of Karen Carpenter"

Karen Carpenter   
(b. March 2, 1950 in New Haven, Connecticut - d. in February 4, 1983 Downey, California)
Singer
Karen was the voice of  "The Carpenters" the brother and sister duo of the 70's. After the family moved to Downey, LA in the 60's Karen & Richard developed an interest in vocal harmonies and Richard produced arrangements on a demo tape which were sent to Herb Alpert's A& M Records. They were signed and "The Carpenters" were born. With Karen's distinctive voice, Richard's arranging and the Bacharach-David song "Close to You" they had an instant million seller. Smash hits followed throughout the 70's turning the duo into world wide stars. Karen's anorexia had by the late 70's reduced the duo's popularity and her subsequent death in 1983 saw the end of "The Carpenters". Richard went into record arranging but the 1989 TV movie "The Karen Carpenter Story" saw a renewed interest in the group and Richard re-mixed many of their classic hits for re-release.
Karen was born in New Haven, Connecticut and moved with her family to Downey, California in 1963. Karen and her brother Richard formed a trio band with a friend named Wes Jacobs. In 1966, The three won a contract for RCA Records at a battle of the bands at Hollywood Bowl. They recorded two albums that were never released and the trio broke up. The Carpenters formed another band with four other students at California State University. After this band disbanded in 1970, they sent in a demo at A&M Records, and soon were signed. The Carpenters soon became one of the most successful singing groups in the 1970s, with Karen on drums and lead vocals and Richard on piano. They won two Grammy Awards. However, no one knew that Karen was suffering anorexia nervosa. Eventually Karen grew too weak to perform, forcing the cancellation of a European tour. After time a time in the hospital, she went back to recording with Richard and recorded, Touch Me When We're Dancing.
In 1983, when staying at her parents' house, she went into cardiac arrest and was rushed to a local hospital. She was pronounced dead twenty minutes later. Doctors discovered at her autopsy the added stress of the 30 pounds that she had gained the previous year while in treatment had been too much for her heart to compensate for. She was thirty-two years old.

Pierce Brothers Valley Oak Memorial Park. Westlake Village, Los Angeles. Located at the far left hand corner of the park on the high ground.

Original Burial site was Forest Lawn Cemetery Cypress, Cypress, nr. Anaheim, Los Angeles 
Located in the Ascension Mausoleum, Sanctuary of Compassion.
Cause of Death - Heart Failure due from years of Anorexia.

Hit Records:- "Close To You" 1970 - "We've Only Just Begun" 1970 - "For All We Know" 1971 -
"Rainy Days And Mondays" -1971 - "Superstar" 1971 - "Hurting Each Other" 1972 - "It's Going to Take Some Time" 1972
"I Won't Last A Day Without You" 1972 - "Goodbye to Love" 1972 - "Sing" 1973 - "Yesterday Once More" 1973
"Top of the World" 1973 - "Jambalaya" 1974 - "Please Mr. Postman" 1975 - "Only Yesterday" 1975 - "Solitaire" 1975
"There's A Kind Of Hush" 1976 - "Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft" 1977 -
"Touch Me When We're Dancing" 1981

Albums:- "Close to You" 1971 - "The Carpenters" 1971 - "Ticket To Ride" 1972 - "A Song for You" 1972
"Now and Then" 1973 - "The Singles 69-73" 1974 - "Greatest Hits" 1974 - "Horizon" 1975 - "Live in Japan" 1975
"A Kind of Hush" 1976 - "The Carpenters Collection" 1976 - "Live at the Palladium" 1977 - "Passage" 1977
"The Singles 74-78" 1978 - "Made in America" 1981 - "An Old Fashioned Christmas" 1984
"Yesterday Once More" 1985 - "Voice of the Heart" 1987

Singer Harry Nilsson is also buried here at Valley Oaks.