Dolly Parton’s family issues video statement after music icon’s death at 80

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE: Dolly Parton’s family shared an emotional video on her social media handles on Tuesday, August 25, after her death at 80, with her nephew Bryan Seaver delivering the announcement.

According to representatives, the country music legend died after a brief battle with cancer at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville, surrounded by her loved ones.

Dolly Parton’s family remembers her lasting legacy

Seaver, who served as Parton’s head of security for more than two decades after his father Larry held the role, said the announcement was something Parton had asked him to make years ago. He described the moment as an honor mixed with “absolute pride and great sadness.”

“But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly,” Seaver said. He added that Parton had “lived in the light” and was now “in the arms of Jesus,” where she had surely been met by her husband Carl Dean, her parents and countless others.

Seaver recalled first going on the road with Parton as a child in the 1980s, saying she opened doors for him and his entire family to reach possibilities they had not known were possible. 

He also highlighted the impact she had on generations of singers, songwriters, musicians and dreamers around the world. “By her example, we believed that anything was possible,” he said, adding that Parton “never saw a door she couldn't open” and that the doors she opened “made and changed history.”

Seaver also reflected on how Parton became an extended part of the lives of her fans through television, records, CDs and phone playlists. He said her family and the team entrusted with her legacy would work to ensure her spirit lives on forever.

“Dolly was a farmer, just like her Daddy. He farmed the soil; she farmed songs and happiness,” Seaver said. He added that Parton had asked to rest in “a beautiful bed of plush cotton” after a life of wearing heavy rhinestones.

Dolly Parton faced health issues after Carl Dean’s death

Parton had previously been candid about struggling with her health after the death of Dean, her husband of 60 years. The businessman died in March 2025 at age 82. The couple had met when Parton was 18, on the same day she moved to Nashville.

In a statement to PEOPLE on August 25, her representatives confirmed that her death followed a “brief battle with cancer.” The type of cancer was not disclosed.

The statement praised her for spending her life bringing “joy, laughter, hope and integrity” to everything she touched. It also highlighted her generosity, including the hundreds of millions of books donated through her Imagination Library and funding for research that helped create a lifesaving vaccine used around the world.

Parton was admitted to the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center on Friday, August 21, and died four days later. Before her death, she had been dealing with kidney and autoimmune issues and had acknowledged her recent health decline.

“I am dealing with some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over Carl,” she told PEOPLE. She also recalled previous struggles with her health in the early 1980s and added, “Even though I’m still healin,’ I’m still workin’.”