Dolly Parton has been laid to rest in Nashville three days after her death at the age of 80. The singer died on 25 August after a brief battle with cancer, according to her publicist.

She was admitted to the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville on 21 August and died there four days later, People magazine reported. Before her death, she was also dealing with kidney and autoimmune issues.

Parton’s niece, Lainey Mae Parton, shared the news in a social media post on Saturday. Writing on Instagram, she said:

“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. 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.”

The singer had requested a private service. However, she expressed a wish for friends and fans to pay their respects on social media by tagging her or by making donations to her Imagination Library, according to People.

Burial and memorial details

It is surmised that the “I Will Always Love You” singer/songwriter was laid to rest next to her husband, Carl Dean, at Woodlawn Memorial Park and Mausoleum in Nashville. Dean died in March 2025. The mausoleum where he was interred included a plaque for Dolly. It also featured engravings of two homes, including her childhood home in Sevier County, Tennessee, their marriage date, and intertwining wedding rings.

Tributes and musical honours

The “Jolene” singer received numerous tributes, including a dedicated show by the Grand Ole Opry on 29 August. During the tribute, Jada Star, another niece of Parton, spoke on behalf of the family and performed “The Orchard”.

Other musical performances included:

• Kathy Mattea, who performed “Jolene”
• Carley Pearce, a former teenage performer at Dollywood, who performed “Those Memories of You”
• Jelly Roll and several other performers, who sang “9 to 5”

The evening concluded with a videotaped performance from Dolly Parton herself, singing her signature song, “I Will Always Love You”.