Dolly Parton‘s final decisions were driven by love.
The country music icon, who died last month at 80 following a “brief battle with cancer,” kept her health struggles largely private. Now, her younger sister, Stella Parton, 77, is explaining that the choice was deliberate.
“Well, Dolly did not want anybody to tell that because Dolly could not bear negative things and she would not have wanted her fans worried about it,” Stella said in a new interview with CBS Mornings’ Gayle King on Wednesday, Sept. 9. “She didn’t want a lot of the family worried about it. Some of us knew, the ones that were closer, but not every relative.”
When it came to her health, the “9 to 5” singer “did not want people sad.” Still, Stella believes there’s one part of the public’s grief that would have brought Dolly comfort.
“She’d be really happy and delighted that people have shown her so much love because she knew that that would make us feel better as her family,” she explained. “Bottom line, end of the day, her family and Carl’s family and probably Judy’s family are the people that she would want to say, ‘See, everything I did, they cared. They really loved me,’ ” she added, referring to Dolly’s late husband, Carl Dean, and her longtime best friend, Judy Ogle.
In an earlier Instagram post, Stella praised Dolly as a “positive influence” and encouraged people to carry on that example.
“Use my sister’s life as an example for tolerance and respect toward others,” Stella wrote. “It’s not about the most clever comments, fake AI garbage, or snarky tweets.”
Stella, who is also a musician, later shared more about her sister’s final days in a tribute to the country icon.
“My sister was one of the most generous, thoughtful and kind people I’ve ever known,” Stella wrote. “What the world saw is exactly who she was, so much so, she told me recently that if there was no hope for her, she would still allow her medical team to try experimental drugs in the hope of helping others in the future.”
At the time, Stella also reflected on her older sister’s outlook, writing, “Dolly loved the world and everyone in it. I would criticize and complain about it and she would laugh and say; ‘shoot Tedda, we’ve got more important things to do than worry about their silly asses.’ She was right and she proved it every day.”
Dolly’s death was announced by her nephew, Bryan Seaver, on social media on Tuesday, Aug. 25. In an Instagram video, Seaver explained that making the announcement was “something Dolly asked of me years ago, before I fully absorbed it as a future reality.”
It was also confirmed to that the singer died following a “brief battle with cancer.” She had been hospitalized four days before her death.
