Dolly Parton has been laid to rest beside her late husband, Carl Dean, following a private funeral attended by members of her immediate family in Nashville, Tennessee.
The country music legend was buried on Friday at Woodlawn Memorial Park and Mausoleum, where Dean was also laid to rest after his death in March 2025. The couple had been married for almost 60 years.
Parton’s burial crypt had already been prepared before her death. A bronze plaque bearing her name, Dean’s name and an image depicting her Tennessee home was installed at the mausoleum.
Although the funeral was private, arrangements were made for admirers to visit the graveside. The cemetery reportedly placed velvet ropes and guest books at the site to allow fans to pay their respects.
The cemetery’s obituary encouraged Parton’s global fan base to honour her memory online.
“Dolly’s fans and friends from around the world are encouraged to pay tribute to Dolly on social media tagging @dollyparton,” it stated.
The family has also asked those wishing to honour the singer to donate to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library rather than send flowers.
Woodlawn Memorial Park and Mausoleum is also the final resting place of several renowned country musicians, including George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Eddy Arnold, Marty Robbins and Porter Wagoner.
Wagoner played a significant role in Parton’s early career. After she left his show to pursue a solo career in 1973, she wrote “I Will Always Love You” as a farewell to her former mentor.
Following the funeral, Parton’s great-niece, Lainey Parton, shared an emotional message on Instagram, remembering the late singer as a loving relative who consistently encouraged her ambitions.
“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,” she wrote.
Lainey said Parton had helped build her confidence from childhood and never made her feel that her ambitions were unrealistic.
“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,” she said.
She added that Parton’s kindness had left her with virtually no unpleasant memories of their relationship.
“Most people can think of at least one bad memory with everyone in their family. I honestly can’t think of one with her,” Lainey wrote.
She also remembered being invited to sing with Parton on the Smoky Mountain DNA album while she was a high school freshman.
According to Lainey, Parton’s presence helped calm her nerves and made her feel confident during the experience.
“She didn’t just tell me to chase my dreams, she helped me get there,” she said.
Parton died last week at 80 after what her family described as a brief battle with cancer. Her nephew, Bryan Seaver, announced her death in a statement, while a video announcing the news was also shared on her Instagram account.
A representative for the singer said she died surrounded by family at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center.
“After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones,” the representative said.
Her family has not disclosed the specific type of cancer she was battling.
