Funeral for Natalie Cole to be Monday in Los Angeles

A funeral for Grammy Award-winning singer Natalie Cole will be held Monday in Los Angeles.

A spokesperson for the family said Saturday that the service will be at West Angeles Church of God in Christ, where Cole was once a member. R&B star Chaka Khan is expected to sing at the funeral. In the 1990s, Cole was a  member of West Angeles Church of God in Christ but left to join Mt. Moriah,  where her son attended.

Gail Deadrick, Cole's longtime music director and conductor, coordinated the program for Monday's service. She said the day would  focus on Cole’s legacy, built over four decades.

"Nobody knew this was going to happen," Deadrick told the Los Angeles Times. "We  mourn the fact that she's gone. But we are celebrating."

Cole will be buried next to her parents, sister and brother at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale.

She was known for such R&B hits as "This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)," ''Inseparable," and "Our Love." In 1991, she intertwined her musical legacy with that of her father Nat King Cole to make his "Unforgettable" a Grammy-winning hit through technological wizardry.

She died on New Year's Eve at age 65 of pulmonary arterial hypertension, which led to heart failure. 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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