More than a year after his death, country music icon Kenny Rogers will be buried.
Rogers died March 20, 2020, in his Sandy Springs home, and many thought he would be buried nearby there. However, Sam Reed, sexton at historic Oakland Cemetery, said Rogers’ family bought a plot there for the singer.
According to 11Alive News, there aren’t any burial plots available unless bought through generational families who might put one up for sale. Reed confirmed that’s how Rogers’ family obtained his plot.
Oakland Cemetery is where Margaret Mitchell, Bobby Jones, former Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson and other Atlanta notables are buried.
Rogers was 81 when he died in hospice care surrounded by family. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, his family held a private service.
In June 2016, Rogers, a Houston native, played his final show in his adopted hometown – a hits-filled retrospective dubbed “The Gambler’s Last Deal” at Chastain Park Amphitheatre. Due to a series of health challenges, Rogers’ farewell tour, which stretched into 2018, was cut short on the advice of doctors.
Throughout his 60-year career, Rogers powered chart-toppers “Lady,” “Lucille,” “She Believes in Me,” “Through the Years” and, with lifelong friend Dolly Parton, “Islands in the Stream.”
He earned more than 20 solo No. 1 hits on the country charts , with “Lady” and “Islands in the Stream” also topping the pop charts.
