NASHVILLE — Dolly Parton, the country music icon whose voice and philanthropy touched millions, died Tuesday at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center after a short battle with cancer, her representative said. She was 80.
“After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones,” said Marcel Pariseau, Parton’s longtime representative, in a statement. The type of cancer was not disclosed.
Parton’s death comes just over a year after her husband of 59 years, Carl Thomas Dean, passed away at 82. She also outlived five of her eleven siblings, including her brother Randy Parton, a fellow country musician who died of an undisclosed form of cancer in 2021. Her brother Coy “Denver” Parton died last month.
In a video posted to her official X account, her nephew Brian Seaver remembered Parton as a trailblazer who opened doors for her family and countless others. “Dolly has lived in the light, and is in the arms of Jesus, surely met by Carl, her parents, and countless others who have watched her and longed for her to meet them in the heavens,” he said. “I first went on the road with Dolly as a kid, getting a taste of the road life in the early 1980s. Dolly opened doors, not just for me, but for her entire family to reach the potential we didn’t even know was possible.”
Seaver added, “Dolly also opened doors for generations of singers, songwriters, musicians, and dreamers from every walk of life, and across every continent. By her example, we believe that anything was possible. She never saw a door she couldn’t open, and the door she opened made and changed history.”
Parton’s influence extended far beyond her own chart-topping hits. She mentored a broad range of artists, from Miley Cyrus to Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson, and her Imagination Library program has distributed hundreds of millions of books to children worldwide from birth until preschool. The program is expected to continue, as her book program will carry on after her death.
Her philanthropy also included funding research that helped develop a lifesaving COVID-19 vaccine, a contribution that Pariseau highlighted in his statement. “Our beloved Dolly Parton spent her life and career bringing joy, laughter, hope and integrity into everything she touched. Her unmatched generosity reached the lives of countless people whom she would never meet, yet she was always there to offer a helping hand,” he said.
“Whether it be the hundreds of millions of books donated through her invaluable Imagination Library or funding research that helped create a lifesaving vaccine used around the world, Dolly’s unconditional love for all people was the guiding force for her lasting impact,” Pariseau added.
Political leaders have begun to react, with presidents paying tribute and flags ordered at half-staff, and a week-long half-staff flag tribute has been ordered in her honor. Parton’s death marks the end of an era in American music, but her legacy of opening doors and giving back is likely to endure.
