Dolly Parton wanted a “very, very private” burial, her cousin has revealed.
The country music legend died on 25 August, aged 80, after a short battle with an undisclosed form of cancer. She was subsequently laid to rest beside her husband of 58 years, Carl Dean, inside Nashville’s Woodlawn Memorial Park and Mausoleum on Friday.
Dolly’s cousin Richie Owens opened up about the country icon’s funeral during an interview with NBC’s Today programme on Thursday.
“She wanted to keep it very quiet, and the word keeps getting brought up, ‘a funeral.’ I don’t believe that is really the case in the situation,” Richie explained. “It was a burial to be buried beside her husband, and she wanted it very small.”
The funeral was attended by close family members, with Dolly’s nieces revealing on the show that only 10 relatives were present at the service.
“A few family members were there,” Richie said. “Other people, I’m sure, would have liked to been there, were either out doing other things and stuff. It was very quiet, very quickly done and not for any bad reasons whatsoever. It’s just what she wanted. She wanted to keep it very, very private.”
The Jolene singer was also known for her charity work, establishing her Imagination Library in 1995 in honour of her late father, who never learnt to read or write.
“She really cared about her charities. What you saw from Dolly is what she was in real life at home. (She was) 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 humour,” Richie praised.
He also confirmed that the 9 to 5 hitmaker kept her health battles private, even from her relatives.
“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 shared.
