Dolly Parton’s family reveal heartbreaking detail in their final goodbye as she is laid to rest beside husband
Dolly Parton's niece has said that the country singer 'always made us feel like we were hers' as she paid tribute to her 'granny'.
The '9-5' hitmaker died aged 80 last week after a 'brief battle with cancer'.
A statement released by her representatives said: "Our beloved Dolly Parton spent her life and career bringing joy, laughter, hope and integrity into everything she touched. Her unmatched generosity reached the lives of countless people whom she would never meet, yet she was always there to offer a helping hand."
On Friday (August 28), relatives of the star said their final goodbyes in a private funeral, as her niece Lainey Mae Parton took to Instagram a day later to share a sweet message.
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She wrote: "This is a really hard post for me to make. I wanted to wait until after my granny was laid to rest yesterday before I tried to put any of this into words.
"From the time I was little, my granny always had a way of making me feel like I was enough. She never made my dreams feel too big or made me feel like I couldn’t do something. She believed in me before I even knew how to believe in myself.
"Most people can think of at least one bad memory with everyone in their family. I honestly can’t think of one with her."
In her final goodbye, Lainey went on to reveal that because Parton never had children of her own, she formed a special bond with the 'Jolene' singer.
She continued: "Because she couldn’t have kids of her own, she always made us feel like we were hers. She loved us that way, and I’ll forever be grateful for that."
One particular memory for Lainey is when her auntie asked her to sing with her on an album while Lainey was still a freshman in high school, which made her feel 'so nervous'.
Lainey added in the lengthy social media post: "But she had a way of making me feel like nothing bad could happen. She made me feel safe, confident, and like I belonged right there beside her.
"As I got older, she continued to believe in me. When I told her I wanted to go to beauty school, she never questioned why I wasn’t going to college. She told me she couldn’t see me doing anything else. She financially supported me through school and helped me get my career started. She didn’t just tell me to chase my dreams, she helped me get there.
"I’m so thankful I said yes to the opportunities and memories I got to share with her as my Aunt Dolly, including being in a movie with her. I’m so glad I have those moments to look back on now. I have things I can watch, hear, and hold onto when I miss her."
Parton has been laid to rest alongside her late husband, Carl Thomas Dean, in a mausoleum at the Woodlawn Memorial Park in Nashville.
Who was Dolly Parton's husband, Carl Dean?
Despite being married for 58 years, Dolly Parton rarely lifted the lid on her marriage to Carl Dean, who died in 2025.
The pair met in Nashville in 1964, when Parton had just moved there. She recalled to Interview Magazine in 1984: "I graduated on a Friday night, went to Nashville on a Saturday morning with dirty clothes and I went to a Laundromat looking for anything but love.
"I had just left two boyfriends back home and I wasn’t looking to get involved because I had gone to Nashville to really get started in the business. I met him at the Why Washy and he’s been wishy washy ever since."
Dean previously admitted of Parton: "My first thought was 'I'm gonna marry that girl'. My second thought was, 'Lord she’s good lookin'."
After dating for two years, Parton and Dean tied the knot - despite Parton's record label at the time not wanting her to get married over fears of it having a negative impact on her career.
Dean, who owned and operated his own asphalt-paving and road-building business, was always incredibly supportive of his wife's career, with Parton telling the New York Times that he 'never tried to make me give it up'.
He also inspired many of Parton's hit tracks - 'Jolene' was partly based on a bank teller who once flirted with him, and love songs 'From Here to the Moon and Back', 'Forever Love' and 'Say You'll Be Mine' were inspired by their romance.
Despite appearing on the cover of her album My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy, Dean was a notoriously private person and he very rarely was seen in public with his wife.
Parton respected his need for privacy and she never expected him to show up to public events or concerts, with her admitting that 'he loves to hear the things I do' while she also 'loves to hear the things he does'.
The couple's dynamic clearly worked well for them, as they were married for 58 years up until Dean's death at the age of 82 in 2025.
"Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years," Parton said when his death was announced.
Topics: Dolly Parton, Celebrity
Callum Jones