Papa John to Be Laid to Rest

By Stephen M. Silverman

04/23/1998 at 12:00 AM EDT

The funeral for rock star John Phillips of the Mamas and Papas, who died of heart failure at the age of 65 last weekend, will take place in the low California desert on Saturday, officials told Reuters. The Roman Catholic service, to be held at the Palm Springs Mortuary in Cathedral City, will begin at 1 p.m. and is open to the public. Phillips, who suffered a drug-addled existence before a recovery that was too quickly cut short by his weakened heart, was surrounded by a small group of friends and family when he died in his bed, reports PEOPLE. Speaking to the magazine, Phillips's daughter, Mackenzie, 41, said, "I always loved my dad. I just didn't APPROVE of my dad." She said that she somehow lost track of the fact that the troubled man who was her father was Papa John to the rest of the world. "When I was watching TV last night and the news said, 'The nation mourns the loss of a legend,' I broke down," said Mackenzie. "We lost sight of the fact that he was a genius."