Little Jimmy Dickens, a country music legend who was small in size but was a giant in his genre, has died at the age of 94.

Dickens was hospitalized after a stroke on Christmas, days after his last appearance on the Grand Ole Opry to mark his birthday. He died of cardiac arrest. He is survived by his wife, Mona Dickens, whom he married in 1971, and two daughters.Dickens had appeared at numerous local venues over the years including Penn's Peak in Jim Thorpe in June 2008; at the West End Fair in Gilbert, and at the former Ontelaunee Park in New Tripoli.His signature hit was the ditty, "May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose," which quickly climbed to number one in 1965.He was famous for his humorous novelty songs; his small size, 4 feet 11 inches; and his rhinestone-studded outfits. He started as a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 1948 and became a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1983. He was the oldest member of the Grand Ole Opry.The late Hank Williams gave him the nickname "Tater," which stuck with him.In 1979, Dickens paid a personal visit to a family in Nesquehoning, Mr. and Mrs. Sam Degiglio of East Diaz Avenue.The reason for the visit was that his lead guitarist at the time, Bobby Galloway of Nashville, was Mrs. Degiglio's nephew.Dickens and his band had been playing a show near Penn State at the time and decided to detour for the Nesquehoning visit.Although novelty songs were a specialty of Dickens, few country performers could compare to his ballad performances, including his number 10 hit "A Violet and a Rose."On stage, he could bring a tear to the eyes of audience members with his recitation of "Raggedy Ann," of which he always utilized a Raggedy Ann doll as a prop. It's the story of a father who lost his young daughter to illness, and chats with her Raggedy Ann doll about her.Just as quickly would he bring the crowd to laughter with such songs as "Out Beyond the Barn," "I'm Little But I'm Loud," and "A-sleepin' at the Foot of the Bed."In a phone interview with Dickens before his 2008 concert, he said, "I love entertaining. The people who have kept coming out to see me over the decades have been loyal. They're wonderful. There's nothing I'd rather be doing."