{"id":222586,"date":"2026-08-31T01:54:50","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T01:54:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/dolly-partons-niece-shares-emotional-tribute-after-singers-private-funeral-nbc-news\/"},"modified":"2026-08-31T01:54:50","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T01:54:50","slug":"dolly-partons-niece-shares-emotional-tribute-after-singers-private-funeral-nbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/dolly-partons-niece-shares-emotional-tribute-after-singers-private-funeral-nbc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Dolly Parton\u2019s niece shares emotional tribute after singer\u2019s private funeral – NBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"

news Alerts
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Dolly Parton was laid to rest in a private funeral service attended by family on Friday, according to her niece.
Lainey Parton shared an emotional tribute post<\/a> on Instagram on Saturday, writing: \u201cThis is a really hard post for me to make. I wanted to wait until after my granny was laid to rest yesterday before I tried to put any of this into words.\u201d
Parton died Tuesday<\/a> following a brief battle with cancer at age 80. Her social media pages said that at her request, a small private service<\/a> would be held for immediate family.
Lainey remembered Parton as a loving and inspiring figure who \u201cbelieved in me before I even knew how to believe in myself.\u201d
\u201cBecause she couldn\u2019t have kids of her own, she always made us feel like we were hers. She loved us that way, and I\u2019ll forever be grateful for that,\u201d she wrote.
Lainey shared a slew of photos from growing up with Parton, some from childhood and others taken onstage with the country star.
Lainey recalled singing with Parton on her 2024 \u201cSmoky Mountain DNA\u201d album, which included various Parton family members.
\u201cI was a freshman in high school and SO nervous. But she had a way of making me feel like nothing bad could happen. She made me feel safe, confident, and like I belonged right there beside her,\u201d Lainey recalled.
She said the music icon backed her decision to attend beauty school and helped her fund it.
\u201cShe didn\u2019t just tell me to chase my dreams, she helped me get there,\u201d she said.
\u201cI\u2019m so thankful I said yes to the opportunities and memories I got to share with her as my Aunt Dolly, including being in a movie with her. I\u2019m so glad I have those moments to look back on now. I have things I can watch, hear, and hold onto when I miss her,\u201d she continued.
While the family \u2014 and the world beyond \u2014 mourns Parton\u2019s passing, Lainey said she\u2019s holding on to the precious memories she shared with her \u201cgranny.\u201d
\u201cIt still doesn\u2019t feel real that she\u2019s gone. I\u2019m going to miss her voice, her laugh, her hugs, and just knowing she was there. I\u2019m even going to miss those 4 AM calls, and I\u2019d give anything to see her name pop up on my phone again,\u201d she said.
\u201cI feel incredibly lucky that I got to call her my granny. Thank you for always believing in me, loving me, and making me feel like I could do anything. I love you, Granny. Always,\u201d she said, concluding her post.
The \u201cJolene\u201d singer hailed from rural Tennessee, born into a large but tight-knit family. She was one of 12 children, and as her own family expanded, Parton maintained an incredibly close relationship with her siblings, nieces and nephews.<\/a>
Her death sparked widespread mourning and emotional tributes from her fans, Hollywood and the music industry. The 11-time Grammy-winning singer-songwriter was more than just an artist. She was an icon who transcended genre and time, a philanthropist focused on children and poverty, and a businesswoman.
Parton was preceded in death by her husband of 59 years, Carl Thomas Dean, who died in 2025, and her parents, Avie Lee Caroline Owens and Robert Lee Parton Sr.
Marlene Lenthang is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.
© 2026 NBCUniversal Media, LLC<\/p>\n

source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

news AlertsThere are no new alerts at this timeDolly Parton was laid to rest in a private funeral service attended by family on Friday, according to her niece.Lainey Parton shared an emotional tribute post on Instagram on Saturday, writing: \u201cThis is a really hard post for me to make. I wanted to wait until after […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":222587,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-222586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-us","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=222586"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222586\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/222587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=222586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=222586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=222586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}