Country icon Dolly Parton was laid to rest in a private funeral service attended by family on Friday, according to Parton’s niece.
Parton died in Nashville, Tenn., on Tuesday at the age of 80 after a “brief battle with cancer,” according to her representatives.
The Jolene singer’s immediate family gathered at the Woodlawn Memorial Park and Mausoleum in Nashville on Friday morning, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Parton was buried alongside her late husband of nearly 60 years, Carl Thomas Dean, who died in March 2025 at the age of 82.
Nashville’s NewsChannel 5 Amelia Young shared a photo of Parton’s burial site and the bronze plate mounted at the mausoleum with Parton and Dean’s names engraved.
The cemetery’s obituary said Parton’s “fans and friends from around the world are encouraged to pay tribute to Dolly on social media.”
“In lieu of flowers the family asks for donations to be made to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library at http://www.imaginationlibrary.com,”; the obituary added.
Parton’s niece, Lainey Parton, shared an emotional tribute on Instagram, writing, “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.”
Lainey said that Parton “never made my dreams feel too big or made me feel like I couldn’t do something.”
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“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,” 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.”
Lainey remembered singing with Parton on her 2024 Smoky Mountain DNA album.
“I was a freshman in high school and SO nervous. 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,” Lainey recalled.
Lainey said it still “doesn’t feel real that she’s gone.”
“I’m going to miss her voice, her laugh, her hugs, and just knowing she was there. I’m even going to miss those 4 AM calls, and I’d give anything to see her name pop up on my phone again,” she added.
“I feel incredibly lucky that I got to call her my granny. Thank you for always believing in me, loving me, and making me feel like I could do anything,” Lainey’s post concluded.
Elsewhere in Nashville, country singers Carly Pearce and Jelly Roll performed Parton’s 9 to 5 in tribute to the late singer at the Grand Ole Opry on Aug. 29.
“It only feels right that I get to honour the queen tonight. Dolly, we love you,” Pearce told the audience.
“There are artists who make country music. And then there are artists who become part of its very heart. That’s Dolly Parton,” the Opry wrote on Instagram following the concert. “Dolly, thank you for making the Opry, and country music, richer, brighter and unmistakably your own. You will forever be a cherished member of our Opry family.”
On Monday, Parton’s estate also announced Dollyfest, a two-day festival to be held in Nashville and London in 2027.
According to a press release, the festival was originally scheduled to take place in January 2026 — around her 80th birthday — and was going to feature Parton as a performer and host. Now, it will serve as a celebration of her legacy.
“We had the venue booked and we had the announcement ready to go. And then, in August 2025, Dolly had to take a step back after her initial health challenges. A lot of people always say, WWDD (What Would Dolly Do?), and, well, at this moment, Dollyfest is WDWD (What Dolly Would Do!),” organizer Danny Nozell, founder and CEO of CTK Enterprises, said in a statement.
“We are not discouraging people from celebrating Dolly in the ways they choose. However, as far as a traditional memorial goes, that is not something Dolly wanted. So, instead, it feels more appropriate for us to take a beat, let all the tributes that immediately make sense occur naturally, and then, see through this festival-style concept that was truly dreamed up by Dolly.”
— with files from The Associated Press
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