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Dolly Parton funeral: Will the country legend be buried beside husband Carl Dean? Details here
Country music legend Dolly Parton, 80, died after battling cancer. Her family plans a private burial at Woodlawn Memorial Park in Nashville.
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Dolly Parton, the beloved country music icon, died at the age of 80 on Tuesday, August 25, according to her family. She passed away at 80 following her “brief battle with cancer.”
“My family and I have shared a lifetime of beautiful memories with Dolly. But so have you. She has always been on your television, your record player, your CD and on your phone’s playlist, becoming an extended part of your family whether you liked it or not,” her nephew Brian Seaver said in a heart-touching tribute video, confirming the I Will Always Love You artist death.
Dolly Parton funeral: Private service for immediate family
The family subsequently disclosed that, in accordance with Parton's wishes, the deceased singer would be interred in a “small, private service held for immediate family.”
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Ten years before her death, Parton expressed a specific desire regarding her farewell.
“I’m sure they’ll be playing ‘I Will Always Love You’ when I die, just like they did with Whitney Houston,” Parton sated to Entertainment Weekly in 2014. “When they picked her coffin up and started in on that song, I started to cry, and I thought, ‘Oh my Lord.’ That’s when it hit me that she was really gone.”
Also Read: Who was Carl Dean? All we know about Dolly Parton's husband, his death and their love story
While the ballad is considered to be Parton’s most significant success in her career, it was not the song she initially requested.
“There’s a song called ‘If We Never Meet Again,'” she stated. “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.”
Dolly Parton's funeral: She will be buried beside husband Carl Dean
Dolly Parton dedicated nearly six decades to loving Carl Dean away from the public eye. The iconic country music star will be laid to rest alongside her intensely private husband, who supported her remarkable career.
Parton's nephew and former head of security Seaver informed TMZ that she will be interred in the mausoleum at Woodlawn Memorial Park and Mausoleum in Nashville, where Dean was laid to rest following his passing in March 2025.
The funeral will honor both aspects of the woman known to the world: the radiant superstar and the country girl who always remembered her roots. As reported by TMZ, Parton is anticipated to be buried in her signature high heels, complemented by a comfortable cotton dress instead of the heavy rhinestone outfits typically associated with her public persona.
Seaver mentioned that his aunt had conveyed a wish to rest in "a beautiful bed of plush cotton." He elaborated that after a lifetime of bearing the burden of intricate costumes and rhinestones, Parton felt she had earned the right to be comfortable and finally find rest.
A small, private service is said to be in the works in Nashville for her immediate family and Parton's dearest loved ones. Her representatives have verified that a private funeral was her desire. No date has been made public, and there are no confirmed arrangements for a public funeral or a large celebration of life.
Significance of Dolly Parton's burial site
The burial site signifies the end of one of country music's most lasting love tales. Parton first met Dean outside the Wishy Washy Laundromat in Nashville in 1964, shortly after she moved to the city to follow her dreams in music. They were married in 1966 and remained united until his death at 82, only months before they would have celebrated their 59th wedding anniversary.
