She can finally rest.
It still feels wrong to refer to Dolly Parton in the past tense, after the legendary country singer, actress, philanthropist and all-around icon passed away on August 25 at the age of 80.
In a statement from her team, it was confirmed that Dolly passed away at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center here in Nashville, with her nephew Bryan Seaver announcing her death on behalf of the family:
“Dolly called me and said she wants to rest in a beautiful bed of plush cotton, because after a life wearing heavy rhinestones, she finally deserves to be comfortable and have some rest.”
The family announced that, at Dolly’s request, a small private service will be held for immediate family, and her nephew revealed to TMZ that Dolly will be buried “in her signature high heels and a comfortable cotton dress” in the mausoleum at Woodlawn Memorial Park and Mausoleum in Nashville, Tennessee, where her late husband Carl Dean is buried.
Late last week, the cemetery shared an obituary for Dolly, urging fans to share their tributes on social media and donate to her Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in lieu of flowers. And on Friday, her family officially gathered in a quiet ceremony to lay the country music legend to rest.
An emotional post shared by her niece Lainey Parton on Instagram confirmed that Dolly was laid to rest, while paying tribute to her “granny.”
“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.
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.”
While we don’t have many details about the service, Dolly once revealed the song she wanted to be played during her funeral: A hymn called “If We Never Meet Again This Side of Heaven” that was played at her own father’s funeral back in 2000.
“There’s a song called “If We Never Meet Again.” It’s an old country-gospel church song that talks about if we never meet again this side of heaven, I will meet you on that beautiful shore. “Where the charming roses bloom forever and where separations come no more.” That was my daddy’s favorite. We did sing it at his funeral, and I would like it to be sung at mine.”
A tribute to Dolly has been growing at her grave site since she was interred on Friday, and when I drove by the cemetery the other day the parking lot of the mausoleum was packed with cars, presumably to pay their respects to the late legend. And the funeral home has also left a guestbook for fans to leave their condolences for the family:
@bean66688 Dolly Partons grave 8-30-26 #dollyparton #dollywood #fyp #dollywoodthemepark #nashville
♬ Jolene (Your beauty is beyond compare with flaming locks of auburn hair) – Dolly Parton
