(Study break
)...
Looking again at the idea that Sam wants to return and die, maybe he can't quite bring himself to go through with a final farewell ceremony until he is ready to join Frodo. I don't know if the atmosphere of the Shire that makes graveyards out of place there applies here since the specter of death has already intruded. Then again, it would complicate things to suddenly give the hobbits traditions regarding funerals that didn't reappear once the setting returned to the Shire.
I wish I knew more about the evolution of this chapter - I haven't had a chance to read HoME yet.