Iconic singer Little Richard will be laid to rest among his people. According to The Associated Press, the rock ’n’ roll innovator, whose real name is Richard Penniman, will be buried at Oakwood University in Huntsville, Alabama.
Oakwood is a historically Black Seventh-day Adventist university. Pastor Bill Minson, who was reportedly close friends with Penniman, confirmed the singer was an alumnus of the university.
Gerald Kibble, the director of the university’s on-site cemetery, Oakwood Memorial Gardens, said that the star’s funeral will be a private ceremony.
No plans for a virtual or traditional public memorial have been announced at this time.
Our thoughts and prayers remain with the Penniman family.
Penniman died of bone cancer on May 9. He was 87 years old.