PLEASE, NO FLOWERS: DOLLY PARTON’S FAMILY REVEALS UNEXPECTED FUNERAL WISH AFTER HER DEATH AT 80 — PRIVATE FAREWELL PLANNED AS QUESTIONS GROW OVER WHO WILL BE ALLOWED TO ATTEND THE ICON’S FINAL GOODBYE
Funeral arrangements for Dolly Parton have been revealed – but not everyone is invited, and her family has asked that flowers not be sent.
The ‘I Will Always Love You’ singer died at the age of 80, her nephew, Bryan Seaver, announced on Tuesday afternoon in a heartbreaking video.
She passed away earlier this morning after being admitted to Nashville’s Vanderbilt University Medical Center with autoimmune and kidney problems on Friday, according to TMZ.
After news of her death broke worldwide, the star’s publicity team took to social media, confirming her passing and sharing how she wished to be laid to rest.
‘At Dolly’s request, a small, private service will be held for immediate family. Dolly’s fans and friends from around the world are encouraged to pay tribute to Dolly on social media by tagging or by leaving a message at dollyparton.com.
‘In lieu of flowers the family asks for donations to be made to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library at http://imaginationlibrary.com,’ the statement added.
Further details about her funeral have not been announced.
Mourning fans have started leaving flowers, candles and pictures of Parton on her Hollywood Walk of Fame star in Los Angeles, California.
Seaver, who served as his aunt’s head of security for more than two decades, said in the emotional clip that the video is something his late aunt wanted him to do a couple of years ago.
+9
View gallery
Dolly Parton died at the age of 80 on Tuesday morning, her family revealed. She was a country icon known for hits like ‘9 to 5’ and ‘I Will Always Love You’
+9
View gallery
Mourning fans have started leaving flowers, candles, and pictures of Parton on her Hollywood Walk of Fame star in Los Angeles, California
+9
View gallery
Parton (pictured in 1976) passed away earlier this morning after being admitted to Nashville’s Vanderbilt University Medical Center with autoimmune and kidney problems on Friday, according to TMZ
‘I am representing the Parton and Owens family today, announcing the passing of my Aunt Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean,’ Seaver began.
‘Sister, sis, Aunt, Granny to one generation and Gigi to the next.
‘This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago before I fully absorbed it as a future reality.
‘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,’ he said.
Seaver continued: ‘It is an honor that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness. But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly.’
He went on to hail his aunt for having ‘lived in the light’ and said she was now ‘in the arms of Jesus’ and the company of her late husband Carl Dean, as well as her parents and ‘countless others who have watched her and longed to meet her in the heavens.’
Just four days before her death, the ‘Jolene’ singer told People that she was ‘dealing with some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over Carl.’
Her late husband, Carl Thomas Dean, died in March 2025 at the age of 82 after a private battle with Alzheimer’s and other health complications.
The pair were married for 59 years. He largely stayed out of the spotlight throughout their relationship.
+9
View gallery
She had previously raised fan concerns at the end of September, when she announced that unspecified ‘health challenges’ had forced her to postpone her Las Vegas residency — originally scheduled from December 4 to December 13 at the Colosseum Theater at Caesars Palace — until September 2026.
She shared the news directly with fans on Instagram, explaining that her medical issues had required her to undergo several procedures.
‘I want the fans and public to hear directly from me that, unfortunately, I will need to postpone my upcoming Las Vegas concerts,’ Parton wrote.
‘As many of you know, I have been dealing with some health challenges, and my doctors tell me that I must have a few procedures.’
She became the subject of frightened speculation that October when her sister Freida asked the public for prayers amid the singer’s illness.
‘Last night, I was up all night praying for my sister, Dolly,’ Frieda wrote on Facebook on October 7, 2025. ‘Many of you know she hasn’t been feeling her best lately. I truly believe in the power of prayer, and I have been led to ask all of the world that loves her to be prayer warriors and pray with me.’
As panic mounted, Freida backpedaled, trying to assure the public her sister had ‘been a little under the weather’ but that she never intended to ‘make it sound so serious’ and merely issued her request out of a belief in ‘the power of prayer.’
Parton herself then posted a video of herself in hair, makeup and costume at an ad shoot for the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville in order to comfort her fans.
‘Do I look sick to you?’ she chirpily asked, adding that ‘I appreciate your prayers, because I’m a person of faith, I can always use the prayers for anything and everything, but I want you to know that I’m okay!’
+9
View gallery
Parton enjoyed an illustrious music career that spanned six decades
Soon after the news broke, tributes started to pour in for the songstress, including one from President Donald Trump.
‘Very sad to report that Dolly Parton, one of the greatest Country singers, and far beyond, EVER, has just passed away. This is a true loss for millions of people,’ he said, adding that he has ordered flags to fly at half-staff in her honor.
Trump continued: ‘There has never been anyone like her, and never will. In her honor, I am lowering the American flag throughout the United States for a one week period beginning tonight at 6:00PM. Rest in Peace, Dolly! The World loves you. President DONALD J. TRUMP’
Kelly Osbourne also shared a touching post about Parton alongside a photo of her, the late singer, and her son.
‘Dolly, thank you for paving the way. Not only for women in music, but for women everywhere to be unapologetically themselves. You showed us that we could be ambitious and kind, strong and soft, fearless and authentic,’ Osbourne wrote, in part.
Actress Sarah Jessica Parker also shared a tribute to Parton despite never meeting her.
‘I never met @dollyparton but my gosh, did I love her. I don’t think any of us had to know her to love her. One of the greatest this country ever produced. Legend. For real. Forever.
‘And always advocating for those she knew and understood needed a champion. What a loss. But aren’t we so lucky, so fortunate for the endless gifts she shared,’ Parker posted.
+9
View gallery
She was perhaps best known for her hits Jolene and 9 to 5
The fourth of 12 children, Parton was born in Pittman Center, Tennessee, on January 19, 1946.
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, were raised in the Great Smoky Mountains where they slept on beds made of straw and lived with no running water, gas or electricity.
After developing a love of music at an early age, Parton sang frequently on the local radio and made television appearances in East Tennessee as a child before releasing her first single, Puppy Love, at the age of 13.
She then went on to enjoy an illustrious music career that spanned an incredible six decades and was arguably best known for her hits Jolene and 9 to 5.
SOURCE: https://www.dailymail.com/tvshowbiz/article-16079591/dolly-parton-dead-funeral-plans-flowers.html
