Stella Parton sat down with Gayle King for her first interview since her sister’s death, and she shared the reason Dolly kept her cancer diagnosis almost entirely off the radar. Only a small group of close family members knew. In Stella’s words, she did not want people sad. Dolly died August 25 following what her family described as a brief battle with the illness.
Instead of a public memorial, the family held a private funeral at Nashville’s Woodlawn Memorial Park. Her estate also announced DollyFest, a two-day celebration in Nashville and London that is being billed as the party of a lifetime she wanted to share with the world. Tributes have come in from across the musical map, including Kacey Musgraves, Jack White and Orville Peck, proof that Dolly’s influence reached far beyond country.
It is a quiet ending for a woman who spent her life being loud in the best possible way, all rhinestones and warmth and one-liners. DollyFest looks like the biggest, brightest way to say thank you. What is the first Dolly song you are playing when you need a lift? Tell us in the comments.
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Local Lawton
Local Lawton is a contributor to LocalBeat, covering local news and community stories.