The Nation - News from Nov. 15, 1987

About 700 mourners attended a public Mass for Kate Smith at St. Agnes Church in Lake Placid, N.Y., as the singer was entombed nearly a year and a half after her death. St. Agnes Cemetery and executors of Smith’s estate finally compromised on the size of the mausoleum specified in the will, which cemetery officials said was too big. “God Bless America” and other songs Smith held dear were featured in the service, and Father Robert Lamitie praised her as “not only a great star . . . but here in Lake Placid she was a friend, a neighbor, . . . and for that we shall miss her.” The big-voiced star of Broadway, recordings and radio died at age 79 on June 17, 1986.