Dolly Parton’s family reveal heartbreaking detail in their final goodbye as she is laid to rest beside husband
Lainey Mae Parton, Dolly Parton's niece, has revealed 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 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 country singer said their final goodbyes in a private funeral, as Lainey took to Instagram a day later to pay tribute to her auntie.
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She wrote on social media: "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 added: "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.
Topics: Dolly Parton, Celebrity
Callum Jones