Little Richard to Be Buried at Oakwood University on May 20
17 May 2020 | Entertainment Tonight reported that rock ‘n’ roll legend Little Richard will be buried at Oakwood University, an Adventist institution he attended in Huntsville, Alabama.
Little Richard passed away on May 9 from bone cancer. He was 87.
The artist, whose real name was Richard Penniman, studied at Oakwood in the 1950s. While at the historically black Adventist university, he studied for the ministry.
The burial at Oakwood Memorial Gardens (owned by Oakwood University) will take place Wednesday, May 20.
“He was loved by his family and adored by millions,” Little Richard’s lawyer, Bill Sobel, told ET. “He was not only an iconic and legendary musician, but he was also a kind, empathetic, and insightful human being.”
In his later years, even in secular concerts Little Richard would preach. “I know this is not church, but get close to the Lord. The world is getting close to the end. Get close to the Lord,” he said in 2012.
In 2013 he said from the stage, “God talked to me the other night. He said He’s getting ready to come. The world’s getting ready to end and He’s coming, wrapped in flames of fire with a rainbow around His throne.”
His apocalyptic statements generated both snickers and cheers, to which Penniman responded, “When I talk to you about [Jesus], I’m not playing. I’m almost 81 years old. Without God, I wouldn’t be here.”
