Funeral Services Set For Agua Caliente Tribal Chief

Funeral arrangements were announced Wednesday for Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians Chairman Richard Milanovich, who died Sunday.

A viewing is tentatively set at the Palm Springs Convention Center on Monday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

That will be followed by a Wednesday service from 10 a.m. to noon at the convention center and a 2-hour Celebration of Life afterward, according to a tribal announcement.

Michael Hammond, the executive director of the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum in Palm Springs, plans to attend the services after working with Milanovich over the past 12 years.

“I think it’ll be a rather large crowd. I don’t think it will be a curious crowd. I think it will be a crowd that was touched in some way by Richard,” said Hammond.

Milanovich died at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage at age 69 after a long battle with cancer. His service on the Tribal Council started in 1978, and he was elected the tribe’s chairman in 1984.

Many tribal and community projects were undertaken during his tenure, including the purchase of the Spa Hotel in 1992; the addition of the Spa Resort Casino in 1995; development and construction of the Agua Caliente Casino in 2001; and the opening of the $90 million Spa Resort Casino in 2003 and the Spa Hotel’s Well Spirit Center Fitness Center in 2004.

Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet ordered the flag at City Hall flown at half-staff Monday and Tuesday in honor of Milanovich. Pougnet also said this year’s Palm Springs Veterans Day Parade will be dedicated to the memory of Milanovich, an Army veteran who was particularly fond of the parade.

A condolence book is available for the public to sign at the Palm Springs Public Library, 300 S. Sunrise Way.