The Memorials in Los Cerritos Park

There are five memorials in Los Cerritos Park.  For three of them, there is no marked designation of who they are for so they are somewhat invisible to the park user.   Unfortunately, our city no longer allow plaques or signage associated with the newer memorials.   I wanted to document these memorials so as time passes, this important part of our neighborhood history will not be lost.  First a bit of history about how Los Cerritos Park came to be and then a description of the four memorials I am aware of. If anyone knows of any others please post a comment.

The Los Cerritos Park is located along County Club Drive from San Antonio Blvd., down to Country Club Park Place.   The first park parcel was 1.9 acres and was donated by Amelia Bixby to the County of Los Angeles in May 1907.   It was annexed to the City of Long Beach in 1924.  This park adjoined the Pacific Electric Los Cerritos station on its west side.  A number of additions were made to the park to increase its size to the current 7.24 acres. 

Memorial No. 1 Charles R. Rowell Park

Charles R. Rowett came to California from Kentucky in 1895.  He settled first in Wilmington but moved to Long Beach in the early 1900s.  He was in the real estate business and became one of the first developers in Los Cerritos.   Rowett opposed the drilling of oil wells in the neighborhood and worked to assure restoration of the neighborhood once oil wells were banned. He lived at 3813 Chestnut so he would have experienced firsthand the oil fires, smoke and oil pools that dotted the neighborhood south of Bixby Road.   He was the first president of Los Cerritos Improvement Association and affectionately known as the “Mayor of Los Cerritos.”   According to the Long Beach Parks, Recreation and Marine website, an additional parcel of 2.28 acres was acquired in July 1940 and named for Rowett.  But according to Rowett’s obituary published in the Press-Telegram on July 27, 1943, a parcel of land, “soon to be named for him,” would be dedicated on land given by the Bixby’s adjacent to the school.   Whether the land was purchased by the city or donated to the City, the land area across from Los Cerritos School, north of Bixby Avenue, was originally called Rowett Park,  in honor of Charles R. Rowett.

Memorial No. 2 Gary “Rocketman” Gabelich

In 1985,   a Memorial Grove was dedicated in the northwest section of the park (near the corner of Del Mar Avenue and San Antonio Drive) in memory of local resident and race car driver Gary Gabelich.  Gabelich won many drag racing championships and set world speed records on both land and sea. He held the Land Speed record for 13 years. He also was associated with several local charitable causes including the California Pool for the Handicapped, Special Olympics and March of Dimes.  In 2008, Gabelich was inducted into the Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame on Pine Avenue.  His widow, Rae Gabelich represented our neighborhood on the city council from 2004 to 2012.

Unfortunately the bronze plaque was stolen from the park in the summer of 2018.   The grove dedicated to Gabelich still exists near the corner of Del Mar Avenue and San Antonio Drive.  The memorial stone is still there, without its plaque, encircled by hedges and with benches, a welcome respite for a weary park user or for a moment of reflection. 

UPDATE

On November 30, 2023, a new stone memorial plaque was unveiled replacing the one that had been stolen.

Memorial No. 3 Lillian Kawasaki

In September in 2014, a jacaranda tree was planted near Country Club Drive, just north of the restroom building.   There is no better memorial to remember Los Cerritos resident, Lillian Kawasaki, one of Southern California’s environmental leaders.  Lillian Kawasaki was the first chief of the Environmental Affairs Department created by Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley.  She would go on to other leadership positions for the City of Los Angeles, including General Manager of the Community Development Department and Assistant General Manager at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.  Kawasaki was the co-founder of the Friends of Manzanar, an organization that supports the preservation and restoration of the Japanese internment camp, once home for some of her own family members.  She was elected to the Water Replenishment District in 2008 and ran an unsuccessful campaign for Long Beach City Council in 2012.  Since its planting, her friends and family decorate the tree every Christmas and sing Christmas Carols.

Like Gabelich, Kawasaki has another memorial- the Water Replenishment District of Southern California at 4040 Paramount Blvd., Lakewood, renamed their Eco-Garden  and the Eco-Gardener Program after her.  The program teaches homeowners how to have a beautiful garden while saving water.

UPDATE: Lillian’s family and friends decorate this tree for Christmas every year. This year, ten years since her passing, a permanent plaque was added to the tree.

Monument Number 4-The Awaida Family

Halloween 2019 was a tragic night in Los Cerritos.  A Los Cerritos family, returning home from a Halloween celebration, were hit by a 20 year old man, arrested on the suspicion of driving under the influence who now  faces murder charges.  The crash happened while the family walking near the southern end of the park along Country Club Drive.  Joseph Awaida, age 30, his wife Raiham Dakhil, age 32 and their three year old son, Omar, died as a result of the crash.  Immediately community member’s built a temporary memorial of flowers, candles and toys.  No one could walk or drive down Country Club Drive without seeing how the memorial increased in size as the Awaida’s struggled for their lives.

One year later, on November 1, 2020, three olive trees were planted near the accident site,  as Country Club curves by the intersection of a closed roadway that bisects the park.  Like the Kawasaki tree, there is no plaque to memorialize the reason the trees were planted.    Today the trees are young, just like the family.  We can watch the trees grow old, remembering the family that will not.   

UPDATE: The backside of the restroom building, which faces the park has been painted to honor the Awaida’s, Mom, Dad and “Winky.”

Memorial No. 5 Clarice Murphy Tree

The California Pepper Tree in the park near the corner of Country Club Drive and Los Cerritos Lane was planted in memory of Clarice Murphy 1928-2013. This tree was a gift from neighbors and friends of Los Cerritos resident Pat Murphy on the passing of his mother in November 2013. It has a circular bench around the truck and thus serves as a gathering place or a resting point for those using the park.