WARNING: EXPLICIT MATERIAL

Ritchie Valens

Birth Name:

Richard Steven Valenzuela

Birth Date:

May 13, 1941

Birth Place:

Pacoima, California

Death Date:

February 3, 1959

Place of Death:

Albert Juhl’s corn field, 22728 Gull Avenue, Clear Lake, Iowa

Age:

Cause of Death:

Gross trauma to brain due to crash of airplane, multiple fractures, left forearm and both legs

Cemetery Name:

San Fernando Mission Catholic Cemetery

Claim to Fame:

Music

Associates:

Richie Valens was a singer, songwriter, and guitarist and a true rock and roll pioneer who died at the young age of 17 in the infamous Buddy Holly plane crash. Ritchie played is final concert at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa with Buddy Holly and J.P. "the Big Bopper" Richardson. Holly, Valens and Richardson left The Surf immediately after the show, going to the nearby Mason City airport and chartering a small plane with pilot Roger Peterson to take them to Fargo, North Dakota to prepare for their next show at the Moorhead Armory in Moorhead, Minnesota. The plane took off at 12:55 AM Central Time on Tuesday February 3, 1959. Shortly after takeoff, the plane crashed, killing everyone aboard.

Cemetery Information:

Final Resting Place:

San Fernando Mission Catholic Cemetery

11160 Stranwood Avenue

Mission Hills, California, 91345

USA

North America

Map:

Grave Location:

Section C, Lot 247, Grave 3

Grave Location Description

As you enter the cemetery from Sepulveda Boulevard, drive straight ahead just a short distance as that is Section C on your left side. Look to the curbside for the number closets to “247” and Ritchie Valens is buried 3 rows from the road.