Dolly Parton, Country Music Legend, Dead at 80
Dolly Parton wanted her final resting place to be as comfortable as a bed of yellow roses.
After the country music legend died at the age of 80, her nephew Brian Seaver revealed the humble place she wanted to be buried after living her life in the spotlight.
“Dolly was a farmer, just like her daddy,” Seaver said in a video shared to Parton’s Instagram Aug. 25. “He farmed the soil. She farmed songs and happiness. 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.”
“Rest in peace, Aunt Dolly, Aunt Granny, Gigi,” he continued. “May God bless Dolly Parton, and may God bless you all. She will always love you.”
Following her death, Seaver shared more insight into his aunt’s wishes, including how the “Yellow Roses” singer wanted the world to find out about her passing.
“This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago before I fully absorbed it as a future reality,” he explained. “As her head of security for more than two decades—a role my father Larry held before me—I have imagined the heaviness of this moment but haven’t truly felt it until now.”
“It is an honor, an honor that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness,” he said. “But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly.”
Above all, she took pride in the impact she had on everyone she loved—and who loved her.
Dolly Parton attends the opening of Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum’s new exhibit ‘Dolly Parton: Journey of a Seeker’ at Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on May 19, 2025 in Nashville, TennPhoto by Jason Kempin/Getty Images
“By her example, we believed that anything was possible,” he said. “She never saw a door she couldn’t open, and the doors she opened made and changed history. My family and I have shared a lifetime of beautiful memories with Dolly but so have you.”
Before her death, the “9 to 5” hitmaker shared she was dealing with various health complications, which forced her to take a step back from the spotlight.
“I’ve been not touring, as you know,” Parton said during a rare in-person appearance at her Dollywood theme park in March. “I’ve had a few little health issues, and we’re taking good care of them.”
Parton added that she needed some time to recover after getting “worn down and worn out grieving over” her late husband Carl Dean, who died at 82 in March 2025.
At the time, she shut down any rumors that she’d be retiring.
“I’ve just been doing a lot of writing, a lot of thinking, a lot of praying and a lot of getting ready for a lot of new stuff coming up for the rest of this whole year,” she shared. “So, be ready for me. I ain’t done, I ain’t near done.”
Keep reading for a look back at Parton’s life in pictures.
Dolly Parton, 1955Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
1955
Dolly Parton, 1960Nancy Barr Brandon/MediaPunch/Shutterstock
1960
Dolly Parton, 1965Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
1965
Dolly Parton, late 1960sNancy Barr Brandon/MediaPunch/Shutterstock
Late 1960s
Dolly Parton, 1974Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
1974
Dolly Parton, 1975MediaPunch/Shutterstock
1975
Dolly Parton, 1977NBC/NBCU Photo Bank
1977
Dolly Parton, 1977Gary Null/NBC
1977
Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton, Dabney Coleman, Nine To Five, 198020th Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock
1980
9 to 5
Universal/Kobal/Shutterstock
1982
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
NBC/NBCU Photo Bank
1989
Tri-Star/Kobal/Shutterstock
1989
Steel Magnolias
Paul DrinkwaterNBC/NBCU Photo Bank
1990
Gary Null/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank
1991
Margaret Norton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank
1993
Margaret Norton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank
1994
Margaret Norton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank
1995
Margaret Norton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank
1999
NBC/NBCU Photo Bank
1999
Paul Drinkwater/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank
2003
Paul Drinkwater/NBCU Photo Bank
2008
Peter Kramer/NBC/NBC NewsWire
2012
Douglas Gorenstein/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank
2014
Peter Kramer/NBC/NBC NewsWire
2014
Paul Drinkwater/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank
2015
Quantrell Colbert/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank
2015
Virginia Sherwood/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank
2016
Andrew Lipovsky/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank
2018
Katherine Bomboy/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank
2019
Nathan Congleton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank
2019
