Stella Parton reveals Dolly’s heartbreaking final request before her death
Dolly Parton's younger sister, Stella, is emotionally opening up on the music icon's final moments, week after her tragic death.
On August 25, Parton's nephew confirmed the devastating news of his aunt's passing, via an Instagram story. She was 80-years-old.
It was later revealed that the 'Jolene' singer had passed away following a short battle with cancer. The type of cancer has not been disclosed.
In an interview on CBS Mornings, Stella revealed that the reason the family had kept it private is because it was 'her business'.
Advert
She revealed that Parton 'didn't ask them' not to disclose the type of cancer, although she 'didn't tell them to'.
Stella, 77, said Parton offered to take experimental drugs to 'help others' even if it wasn't going to help her - and that Parton was 'prepared and at peace' with her death.
"She knew where she was goin'," Stella said. "She wasn't goin' anywhere bad. She was going to be with Mama and Daddy," she said.
The 'Four Little Letters' star also revealed that the last thing Parton had asked her for, was a prayer.
The '9 to 5' singer didn't want to make her health public, as not all her relatives knew. Also, she 'didn't want to make the public sad' and 'couldn't bear negative things'.
Last October, Stella and Dolly's younger sister, Freida Parton concerned fans when she asked them to pray for her sister's health, via Facebook. At the time, the health issues weren't specified, however, in May, Parton cancelled
"I think Dolly got onto Freida about that," Stella told Gayle King during the interview. "I don’t know, because I haven’t asked Freida because it was very touchy about all that. So I didn’t wanna hurt Freida’s feelings, and I didn’t wanna mention it to Dolly, but I’m pretty sure Dolly said, 'Pipe it down.'"
Parton's death came a year after her husband, Carl, who she had been married to for six decades died at the age of 82.
It's not the first time Stella has spoken out about her older sister's death.
Taking to Instagram on September 4, Stella penned: "First let me say, thank you to the ones of you who have shown 'genuine' support and love during this time of our family bereavement.
"We will be okay in time but each of us will grieve in our own personal way," she continued.
"Every human being experiences pain and loss in life and my family is no different."
Stella then began to write about AI posts that had been circulating, and 'endless garbage'.
"Sadly, because of the way our lives have been lived in front of the public, we have no choice but to be subjected to incredible pressure and insensitivity from strangers," she said.
"There is a tremendous amount of AI and endless garbage being posted everyday and it’s been challenging to absorb and or ignore.
"As time passes, those who are in the business of exploiting the loss and tragedies of others on a daily basis will move on to the next stampede of endless misinformation."
She then went on to say how her sister would have been 'delighted' at the love her family had received since her death.
Topics: Dolly Parton, Celebrity
Kiesha Dosanjh