Inside Zsa Zsa Gabor's Funeral: Her Widowed Husband and an Intimate Group Gather to Celebrate the Glamorous Socialite

Star passed away on December 18 at age 99

By Kendall Fisher Dec 30, 2016 7:33 PMTags
Zsa Zsa GaborBetty Galella / Contributor

Rain fell over Los Angeles on Friday morning as Zsa Zsa Gabor was laid to rest.

Almost two weeks after she passed away, the socialite's funeral service commenced at 10 a.m. at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills where an intimate group of family and friends have gathered to celebrate her life, and cameras captured live coverage.

The funeral was a classic, Catholic service with a priest leading prayer. Her ashes were placed in a gold, rectangular box next to a vase full of pink roses (her favorite color was pink). On the podium beside them was a photo of Gabor wearing a glamorous, red dress as well as a sign that read, "Farewell My Love."

Her husband, Frederick Prinz von Anhalt—who she married in 1986—also took the stage to give a speech about his wife. He revealed how he met her in 1982 after paying $5,000 to take a picture with someone famous in order to increase his own fame. After four years of seeing each other on and off, they decided to get married, three days before having a surprise service in 1986.

Von Anhalt also touched on their many lavish trips as well as her difficulties battling several health issues since 2002. No matter what, he said, they "always had fun."

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As for her death, her late husband explained the way she passed was "peaceful" and "beautiful," describing how she went without pain in their home having stopped breathing on the floor before they ever arrived at the hospital.

After the service, NBC New reports that Gabor's ashes will be laid to rest inside the famous Westwood Village Memorial Park in Los Angeles. Her late daughter, Francesca Hilton, who suffered a stroke in January 2015, as well as her younger sister, Eva Gabor, who died in 1995, were buried at the cemetery.

Meanwhile, Gabor died on December 18 at 99-years-old. TMZ reported she suffered a heart attack and was later pronounced dead at the hospital. 

She was one of the first people who became famous simply for being famous, having a larger-than-life personality that was later intensified with famous romances (she married nine times) as well as a few roles in film and television.

One of her most famous marriages was to Conrad Hilton with whom she was with for five years and shared her only child, Francesca, who died last year at 67. 

Gabor is survived by her most recent husband von Anhalt.