Dolly Parton’s niece has shared a touching tribute to the country music icon after she was laid to rest during a service attended by her loved ones.
Lainey Parton honored her “grandma” Dolly, praising the Jolene singer — who died on August 25 at the age of 80 after a brief battle with cancer — for treating her and the rest of her nieces, nephews and grandchildren as if they were her own children “because she couldn’t have children of her own.”
Parton’s niece shared her memorial post after the country superstar’s relatives gathered at Woodlawn Memorial Park and Mausoleum in Nashville, where Parton was buried in high heels in the same mausoleum where the remains of her late husband, Carl Dean, lie.
“This is a very difficult post for me to make. I wanted to wait until after my grandma was buried yesterday before I tried to put all of this into words,” Lainey began her lengthy caption alongside photos of herself over the years with her “grandma.”
‘From when I was a child, my grandmother always made 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 wrote.
“Most people can think of at least one bad memory for everyone in their family. I honestly can’t think of one with her.’
Dolly Parton’s niece Lainey Parton (pictured left) has shared a touching tribute to the country music icon after she was laid to rest at a service attended by her loved ones
Parton’s niece further noted that the entertainer never had children, which became impossible due to Parton’s struggles with endometriosis and an eventual partial hysterectomy in her 30s.
‘Because she couldn’t have children of her own, she always made us feel like we were hers. She loved us that way, and for that I will forever be grateful,” Lainey wrote.
She added that one of her most meaningful memories was when her aunt hired her to sing on her 2024 album Smoky Mountain DNA: Family, Faith & Fables.
Parton described the LP as her favorite album at the time while speaking to the band Associated press.
“This is really about my grandmothers and grandfathers, my uncles and my aunts and all the people who go all the way back and had the biggest influence on my life,” Parton said in an interview. “The one I remember from when I was little, and it goes back even further.”
Parton then shared that influence with a younger generation by enlisting her niece Lainey to provide additional vocals on Smoky Mountain DNA.
“One memory I will always cherish is when she asked me to sing with her on her album @smokymountaindna,” Lainey wrote. “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 and confident, like I belonged next to her.’
Lainey also praised the late country superstar for her endless encouragement.
“As I got older, she continued to believe in me. When I told her I wanted to go to beauty school, she never questioned why I didn’t go to college. She told me she didn’t see me doing anything else,” Parton’s niece recalled. ‘She supported me financially during my school years and helped me launch my career. She didn’t just tell me to chase my dreams, she helped me get there.”
Lainey added that her collaborations with her aunt did not end with an album feature.
Lainey Parton (L) honored her “grandma” Dolly, praising the Jolene singer — who died on August 25 at the age of 80 after a secret battle with cancer — for treating her and the rest of her nieces, nephews and grandchildren as if they were her own children “because she couldn’t have children of her own”
One cute photo showed Lainey wearing a huge blonde wig, presumably in tribute to her aunt’s towering platinum wigs
“One memory I will always cherish is when she asked me to sing with her on her album @smokymountaindna,” Lainey wrote.
“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 and confident, and I felt like I belonged next to her,” she added
Lainey collaborated with her aunt on Parton’s 2024 Smoky Mountain DNA album, which she called her “favorite” release in her discography
“I’m so grateful that I said yes to the opportunities and memories I got to share with her as my Aunt Dolly, including being in a movie with her,” she continued. ‘I’m so happy that I now have those moments to look back on. I have things I can see, hear and hold when I miss her.”
Parton’s niece added that it “still doesn’t really feel like she’s gone.”
‘I’m going to miss her voice, her smile, her hugs and the fact that she was there. “I’m even going to miss those 4 a.m. phone calls, and I would give anything to see her name pop up on my phone again,” Lainey continued.
After thanking her friends and followers for sharing their condolences, Parton’s niece wrote that she was “incredibly lucky to call her my grandma.”
“Thank you for always believing in me, loving me and making me feel like I can do anything,” she concluded, adding, “I love you, Grandma. Always.’
Although Parton was believed to have been buried on Friday when her family and loved ones were spotted at Woodlawn Memorial Park and Mausoleum in Nashville – where her late husband is buried – it wasn’t until Lainey’s post a day later that Parton’s funeral service was confirmed.
Lainey has shared photos of herself and her aunt over the years, recalling a sweet photo of her posing on the couch with her aunt Dolly as a young child.
Another fun photo showed Lainey wearing a huge blonde wig, presumably in tribute to her aunt’s towering platinum wigs.
Parton’s niece further noted that the entertainer never had children, which became impossible due to Parton’s struggles with endometriosis and an eventual partial hysterectomy in her 30s.
‘Because she couldn’t have children of her own, she always made us feel like we were hers. She loved us that way, and for that I will forever be grateful,” Lainey wrote
Among her photos were several images from her collaboration with the singer, including on-stage and on-screen performances related to Parton’s Smoky Mountain DNA album.
Parton’s niece’s sweet memory comes after the singer-songwriter’s younger sister Stella shared how Parton continued her quest to help the world even during her dying days.
Stella, one of the country icon’s 11 siblings, took to Facebook on Thursday to pay tribute to her sister, saying she was willing to use her own health issues to bring about positive change for others.
“My sister was one of the most generous, thoughtful and kind people I have ever known,” says Stella, 77. “What the world saw is exactly who she was, so much so that she recently told me that if there was no hope for her, she would still allow her medical team to try experimental drugs in the hopes of helping others in the future.”
She added, “If anyone goes to heaven, I’m sure she made it right on time. I know she shows herself enormously, in all her glitter and shine. That was my sister’s way.”
Stella, who is also a singer-songwriter, also gave fans a glimpse into her weekly routine with Dolly.
“Every Tuesday around this time, before the sun came up and the world was still asleep, she and I would have coffee together over the phone for years,” Stella continued. ‘As little farm girls, we have always been early risers. As she liked to say; “shoot Tedda, we get more work done before the sun comes up than most people do all day!”
“We chatted, as sisters do, drank coffee and made plans, as has always been our custom.”
The fond memory of Parton’s niece comes after Stella (L), the singer-songwriter’s younger sister, shared how Parton continued her quest to help the world even during her dying days.
Stella, 77, a singer-songwriter herself, gave fans a glimpse into her weekly routine with Dolly. Stella is seen on the left with Dolly (right) and another of their sisters, Freida (center)
Stella (center) is seen with Dolly and Frieda in a photo from 1981
As Stella pointed out, Dolly is remembered for her generosity, especially in her efforts to promote children’s literacy.
The star was instrumental in donating hundreds of millions of books to children through her Imagination Library.
Dolly also donated $1 million to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in April 2020, which funded research that helped develop a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.
Stella urged fans to honor Parton’s legacy by showing “more kindness,” lifting others up and giving “more time and resources, as she continued to do until the end.”
After thanking followers for the outpouring of love and respect, she concluded by saying how the legend had influenced her forever and asked everyone to follow her sister’s example.
Stella wrote: ‘Dolly loved the world and everyone in it. I criticized and complained about it and she laughed and said; “Shoot Tedda, we have more important things to do than worry about their funny asses.”
“She was right and she proved it every day.”
The fourth of twelve children, Dolly was born on January 19, 1946 in Pittman Center, Tennessee.
“We caught up on gossip, as sisters do, had coffee and made plans as has always been our way,” Stella (second from right) said of her sibling (pictured at the premiere of Coat of Many Colors Hollwood)
Parton was one of twelve siblings, including Willadeene, David Wilburn, Coy Denver, Bobby Lee, Stella Mae (left), Cassie Nan, Randle Huston “Randy,” Larry Gerald, twins Floyd (right) and Freida Estelle (second from left), and Rachel Ann, who grew up in the Great Smoky Mountains, where they slept on straw beds and lived without running water, gas, or electricity.
Parton enjoyed an illustrious music career that spanned six decades and was perhaps best known for her hits Jolene and 9 to 5.
She and her siblings, Willadeene, David Wilburn, Coy Denver, Bobby Lee, Stella Mae, Cassie Nan, Randle Huston “Randy,” Larry Gerald, twins Floyd and Freida Estelle and Rachel Ann, grew up in the Great Smoky Mountains, sleeping on straw beds and living without running water, gas or electricity.
After developing a love for music at a young age, Dolly sang regularly on local radio and made television appearances as a child in East Tennessee before releasing her first single, Puppy Love, at age 13.
She went on to enjoy an illustrious music career that spanned six decades and was perhaps best known for her hits Jolene and 9 to 5.
Stella’s statement comes after Dolly’s niece Rebecca Seaver paid tribute to the country star on Wednesday.
Rebecca, whose mother is Dolly’s 75-year-old sister Cassie, revealed the family’s pain at her aunt’s death.
“Today, the sadness we feel is insurmountable because of the outpouring of love we all have for Dolly Rebecca Parton,” she said.
