Dolly Parton’s final resting place reportedly set to be beside late husband Carl Dean
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE: Dolly Parton will be laid to rest beside her late husband, Carl Dean, at Nashville’s Woodlawn Memorial Park and Mausoleum, with a private family service following her death on Tuesday, August 25, at age 80.
Her representatives revealed that the service has been planned at Parton’s request before she passed following a brief battle with cancer.
Dolly Parton’s private service and final resting place
“At Dolly's request, a small, private service will be held for immediate family,” her representatives said in an official statement from her Instagram account. TMZ reported Tuesday, a few hours after news of Parton’s death became public, that she will be buried next to her late husband at Nashville’s Woodlawn Memorial Park and Mausoleum.
Dean died in March 2025 at age 82, after nearly 59 years of marriage to Parton. In a statement issued to People, her representative shared that the Queen of Country had “bravely [faced] a brief battle with cancer.” She was “surrounded by loved ones” while receiving medical care at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center.
“Our beloved Dolly Parton spent her life and career bringing joy, laughter, hope and integrity into everything she touched,” the statement read, adding, “Her unmatched generosity reached the lives of countless people whom she would never meet, yet she was always there to offer a helping hand.”
The statement also highlighted Parton’s Imagination Library, which has donated hundreds of millions of books, as well as her funding of research that helped create a lifesaving vaccine used around the world. Parton died at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones after facing the brief battle with cancer.
Parton was reportedly admitted to the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center on Friday, August 21, four days before her death. TMZ reported that Parton had kidney and autoimmune issues.
Meanwhile her team encouraged fans to remember the legend by tagging her social media accounts or leaving messages through DollyParton.com.
Dolly Parton met husband Carl Dean on her first day in Nashville
Parton met her husband Dean on her first day in Nashville in 1964. They married in 1966 after two years of dating and remained together for nearly 60 years.
In 2020, she shared that they maintained their relationship through simple moments, including Dean bringing her yellow daffodils and writing her poems.
Parton also recalled cooking meals, packing picnic baskets and finding a riverbank with their camper, as well as occasionally preparing candlelight dinners.
In 2024, she reiterated that the couple enjoyed traveling in their little RV and having picnics by the river.
Parton created the Imagination Library in 1995 in honor of her father, Robert Lee Parton Sr, who could not read or write. The program supplies free books to children from birth to age 5 in five countries. “The seeds of these dreams are often found in books, and the seeds you help plant in your community can grow across the world,” she once said.
Her nephew announced her death in an Instagram video. Seaver, who had been her head of security for more than 20 years, shared that Parton had asked him years earlier to deliver the news when the time came.
Seaver also revealed that Parton wanted to rest on soft cotton after decades spent beneath elaborate stage costumes. “After a life wearing heavy rhinestones, she finally deserves to be comfortable and have some rest,” he shared.
The 11-time Grammy winner built her legacy through songs including 'Jolene' and 'I Will Always Love You,' films such as '9 to 5' and 'Steel Magnolias,' and decades of philanthropy.
