Dolly Parton’s Cousin Shares Why Her Family Opted for Private Burial

Dolly Parton's family honored her wishes with a hushed, family-only farewell rather than the grand send-off fans may have anticipated. Now, her cousin is shedding light on the deeply personal reasons behind that choice.

Dolly Parton was one of the biggest stars to ever grace the stage, and her legacy remains undeniable. The country icon passed away at age 80 on August 25, 2026, following a brief battle with cancer, and was laid to rest just days later.

Her closest loved ones said their goodbyes in a private funeral attended only by immediate family. Given the scale of the fame she'd built over decades, many fans might have expected a large-scale celebration befitting such a beloved star.

But there was a reason behind her family's decision to give her a quiet send-off. Richie Owens, a singer-songwriter who has produced several of Parton's hit records, appeared on "Today" on Thursday, September 3, and opened up about his cousin's life and legacy.

"What you saw from Dolly is how she was in real life, at home, personable, magical just very giving," he said. "You got the same thing. She didn't turn it on and off. Dolly was always Dolly. She had the greatest sense of humor."

"She wanted to keep it very quiet," Owens explained of Parton's funeral arrangements. "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. It was very quiet and very quickly done," Owens clarified. "And not for any bad reasons whatsoever, it's just that's what she wanted. She wanted to keep it very, very private."

Part of what shaped Parton's decision to forgo a large funeral was how she felt about the flowers and gifts typically sent at funerals.

"She would much rather see people take that $50 they were gonna spend on flowers and give it to her Imagination Library," Owens explained. "She said that many, many times. She really cared about her charities."

He also shared that Parton kept her health struggles private, even from her own family. "She's always kept things private because she wanted to keep everybody being positive around her. And just put that out there in the world, 'Don't worry about me, I'm gonna be fine,'" he said.

Owens, who produced Parton's 1998 album "Hungry Again" and her 1999 album "Precious Memories," went on to reveal that his final visit with his cousin centered on a piece of music and family history.

"The last time that I was physically with her, we had went 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," he recalled, noting that they eventually tracked down a guitar of the same make and model.

"We 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," he said.

"That was the last time with her that I was with her and I was able to present her those guitars," Owens added. Still, he said the visit didn't feel like a goodbye at the time. "That lady was a workaholic. She was relentless."

Reflecting on her legacy beyond her work ethic, he said, "The lady was just magic, it poured out of her."