Dolly Parton’s cousin Richie Owens reveals why her funeral was kept private
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Dolly Parton’s cousin and collaborator, Richie Owens, has shared the reason behind the late icon’s private funeral service, which was only attended by some family members.
Owens, who is also a singer-songwriter and had worked with Parton, also opened up about his final meeting with the ‘I Will Always Love You’ hitmaker.
Parton was 80 when she breathed her last on August 25 in Nashville, Tennessee. Before her death, she had a brief battle with cancer and was surrounded by her loved ones during her final hours.
Richie Owens says Dolly Parton 'had the greatest sense of humor'
Days after Parton’s August 28 funeral, Owens sat down for an interview with 'TODAY' on Thursday, September 3.
He said, “What you saw from Dolly is how she was in real life, at home, personable, magical just very giving. You got the same thing. She didn’t turn it on and off. Dolly was always Dolly. She had the greatest sense of humor.”
Richie Owens' says funeral was 'more a burial to be buried beside her husband'
Regarding the private funeral decision, the multi-instrumentalist explained, “She wanted to keep it very quiet.”
“The word keeps getting brought up — a funeral — and I don’t think that was really the case in this situation; it was more a burial to be buried beside her husband [Carl Dean]. And she wanted it real small and a few family members were there,” he added.
Owens further noted that the funeral “was very quiet and very quickly done” because that’s what Parton wanted.
Disclosing more on the private funeral decision, the record producer stated, “She would much rather see people take that $50 they were gonna spend on flowers and give it to her Imagination Library. She said that many, many times. She really cared about her charities.”
Richie Owens gifted Dolly Parton 'a little Martin guitar' during their final meeting
Elsewhere during the interview, Owens opened up about his final meeting with his first cousin.
He said, “The last time that I was physically with her, we had gone back and forth helping find and locate a little guitar that she had from when she was a kid, my father had given her back in 1958, it was a little Martin guitar, it was a little baby-sized style.”
The two managed to find it and “got it all documented with the Martin guitar company, and they turned around too because of that and her love for little Martin guitars, they made her a Martin guitar with her butterfly there at the end,” the singer mentioned.
Owens also mentioned that it was his last time with Parton, “and I was able to present her those guitars," before adding, “That lady was a workaholic. She was relentless. The lady was just magic; it poured out of her.”
