Gram Parsons, the iconic American musician who significantly influenced the country rock and alt-country genres, is buried in Metairie, Louisiana, at the Garden of Memories Cemetery.
His connection to Louisiana, however, wasn’t out of personal ties or affection for the state, but rather due to inheritance laws. Here’s how his connection to New Orleans and Louisiana law led to his burial there:
Gram Parsons’ Louisiana Burial: A Legal Matter, Not a Personal One
Parsons, who died at the young age of 26 in 1973 from a drug overdose, was renowned for his work with The Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers, creating a fusion of rock and country music. Though he made significant cultural contributions to music, his burial in Louisiana wasn’t due to his personal or familial connections to the area but was instead driven by inheritance laws and his stepfather’s legal maneuvering.
The Family Connection and Louisiana Laws
Gram Parsons’ mother, Avis Snively, married Bob Parsons, a Louisiana native, after her first husband, Ingram Cecil Connor II, died in 1958. Gram and his family had a complicated relationship with Bob, and their connection to Louisiana was primarily through Bob’s ties to the state.
However, Bob Parsons had a significant reason for ensuring Gram’s burial in Louisiana: under Louisiana inheritance laws, if Gram was legally established as a resident of the state, Bob could inherit his money.
When Parsons died without a will, Bob saw an opportunity to claim part of his fortune by proving that Gram was a resident of Louisiana at the time of his death.
Bob Parsons’ Legal Strategy
According to Jason Walker, author of “Gram Parsons: God’s Own Singer,” Bob Parsons arranged to have Gram’s body shipped to Louisiana as part of his strategy to claim the inheritance. He needed to show that Gram had lived in New Orleans or Louisiana to benefit from the state’s inheritance laws.
However, Gram’s road manager, Phil Kaufman, was determined to honor a pact he had made with Parsons: whoever died first would have the other person cremated in the California desert. Kaufman, with the help of a friend and a hearse, managed to steal Parsons’ body from the airport, eventually taking it to Joshua Tree for the cremation. Unfortunately, the cremation was botched, and Kaufman was arrested and charged with stealing the coffin.
The Aftermath: Burial in Metairie
Despite Kaufman’s efforts to honor the pact, the recovered remains were eventually shipped back to Bob Parsons, who proceeded with his plan to bury Gram in Metairie, Louisiana.
Gram was laid to rest in the Garden of Memories Cemetery following a small ceremony in New Orleans. Bob’s legal claim was solidified, but his efforts to profit from Gram’s inheritance were ultimately unsuccessful. Bob Parsons died shortly afterward, from liver cirrhosis, without ever benefiting financially from his stepson.
