The Touching Items Tiny Tim Was Reportedly Buried With
With notable personalities like William S. Burroughs being buried with his prized .38 revolver and Bob Marley being interred with a favorite strain of marijuana, it's obvious that families still place sentimental or symbolic objects with their dead as tributes. It's not an uncommon practice, nor is it a new one. In fact, throughout history and across nearly every culture imaginable, there are numerous instances where the dead are buried with personal items, coins, religious totems, and other trinkets that the dead were thought to need to make it to the afterlife. Or, at the very least, they were items that would have been appreciated and valued by the deceased.
When Herbert Buckingham Khaury — the musician known as Tiny Tim — passed away in 1996, his wife had him buried in the Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis (via Roadside America). Before he was interred into the mausoleum that is his final resting place, several objects were placed with him.
He was buried with an instrument associated with his act
It's probably not surprising that Tiny Tim was buried with a ukulele (though he also played guitar). His hit version of the song "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" cracked the top 20 when it was released in 1969. He was as well known for his strumming of his ukulele as he was for his falsetto. Remembered for numerous appearances on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In and guest spots on the late-night talk show circuit, he developed a cult following that lasted until he passed away in 1996 (per the Irish Times).
The musician had some serious health complications leading up to his death at age 64 (per Biography). Congestive heart failure and diabetes contributed to a heart attack that he suffered in late September of 1996, which occurred during a ukulele festival in Massachusetts. Several months later, he was performing the song he will always be remembered for, "Tiptoe Through the Tulips," when he suffered a second heart attack. He lost consciousness almost immediately after he stopped playing the song and could not be revived (via Deseret News). He was laid to rest with a ukulele placed upon his chest and a half-dozen mauve silk tulips at his side.