Dolly Parton was laid to rest in a private family funeral in Nashville on Friday (Aug. 28), according to Billboard and T-Online. The “Jolene” singer was buried next to her husband of nearly 60 years, Carl Dean, who died in 2025 at 82. The late singer’s great niece, Lainey Parton, confirmed details about the private ceremony, writing on Instagram, “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.”

A Small, Private Service

According to E!, the small funeral for the singer who died on Aug. 25 at age 80 following what was described as a brief battle with cancer was held at Woodlawn Memorial Park and Mausoleum in Nashville. While no further details were available about the service at press time, in announcing her death last week, Parton’s nephew, Brian Seaver, revealed in a video that his aunt had a special request for how she should be buried. “Dolly was a farmer, just like her daddy,” Seaver said. “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.”

Personal Tributes and Memories

Lainey Mae, Parton’s great niece, shared a heartfelt message on social media, reflecting on the late singer’s influence in her life. “From the time I was little, my granny always had a way of making me feel like I was enough,” Lainey Mae wrote. “She never made me think my dreams were too big or that I couldn’t do something. She believed in me even before I knew how to believe in myself.” Lainey Mae also recalled a special experience when she was asked to sing with Parton on her album “Smoky Mountain DNA” during her high school years. “She had a way of making me feel like nothing bad could happen,” she said.

Lainey Mae also expressed gratitude for the support Parton gave her when she chose to study cosmetology instead of attending college. “She helped me financially while I studied and helped me start my career,” she wrote. “She didn’t just tell me to chase my dreams—she helped me catch them.”

Legacy and Wishes

Parton’s wish for a small, private funeral was honored, as confirmed by her representatives. The Gedenktafel at the mausoleum already bore her name and a gravure of her house in Sevier County, Tennessee, as reported by T-Online. Parton’s nephew Brian Seaver shared in a video that his aunt had a unique request for her burial: to rest in a “beautiful bed of plush cotton” after a lifetime of wearing rhinestones. In a 2014 interview with EW, Parton had also been asked about the song she would want at her funeral, and while many expected her to choose “I Will Always Love You,” she chose a different poignant song instead. “I’m sure they’ll be playing ‘I Will Always Love You’ when I die, just like they did with Whitney Houston,” she said at the time.