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1954–1955: Illness and death

Since 1950, Parker had been living in New York City with his common-law wife, Chan Berg, the mother of his son, Baird (1952–2014), and his daughter, Pree (who died at age 3). He considered Chan his wife, although he never married her; nor did he divorce his previous wife, Doris, whom he had married in 1948.

The death of Parker's daughter Pree from pneumonia in 1954 devastated him and, after being fired from Birdland in September of that year, he attempted to commit suicide. He was hospitalized and made a partial recovery by early 1955 before his health declined again in March. Parker's last gig on March 4 at Birdland ended when Powell refused to play in his group and the performance spiraled into an argument among the musicians. Parker became drunk and a few days later visited the suite of Baroness Pannonica at the Stanhope Hotel in New York City in ill health. He refused to go to hospital and died on March 12, 1955 while watching The Dorsey Brothers ' Stage Show on television. The official causes of death were lobar pneumonia and a bleeding ulcer, but Parker also had advanced cirrhosis and had suffered a heart attack and a seizure. The coroner who performed his autopsy mistakenly estimated Parker's 34-year-old body to be between 50 and 60 years of age.

The details surrounding Parker's death were controversial. Doris Parker claimed that she, Parker's mother, and Art Blakey were aware of Parker's death before March 14, when Pannonica claimed she first revealed the news on a phone call to Chan. Pannonica, however, visited a nightclub on March 13, the day after Parker died at her apartment but before she informed Chan of Parker's death. Further, newspapers incorrectly reported Parker's age as 53 when he died, and Parker's tombstone incorrectly claimed that he died on March 23.

Parker's marital status complicated the settling of Parker's estate and ultimately frustrated his wish to be interred in New York City. Dizzy Gillespie paid for the funeral arrangements, which included a Harlem procession officiated by Congressman and Reverend Adam Clayton Powell Jr. at the Abysinnian Baptist Church and a memorial concert. Parker's body was flown back to Missouri, in accordance with his mother's wishes. Chan criticized Doris and Parker's family for giving him a Christian funeral even though they knew he was an atheist. Parker was buried at Lincoln Cemetery in Missouri, in a hamlet known as Blue Summit, located close to I-435 and East Truman Road.

Some amount of controversy continued after Parker's burial in the Kansas City area. His tomb was engraved with the image of a tenor saxophone, though Parker is primarily associated with the alto saxophone. Later, some people wanted to move Parker's remains to reinforce redevelopment of the historic 18th and Vine area.