Dolly Parton’s cousin reveals intimate details about late country singer’s ‘small’ burial

Dolly Parton’s cousin opened up about the late country singer’s intimate burial after her death at 80.

“She wanted to keep it very quiet,” Richie Owens said on the “Today” show Thursday. “The word keeps getting brought up, ‘a funeral.’ I don’t believe that is really the case in the situation.

“It was a burial to be buried beside her husband, [Carl Thomas Dean],” he continued. “She wanted it very small.”

Parton’s family member explained that “a few” loved ones were at the burial, while “other people [who] would have liked to [have] been there” were “doing other things and stuff.”

He added, “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.”

Owens also told viewers why Parton kept her cancer battle a secret from the public before her Aug. 25 passing.

“She, of course, posted herself that she had been going through health problems, but no one really knew what a lot of that was, including myself,” he explained.

“She always kept things private because she always wanted to keep everybody being positive around her and put that out there in the world,” Owens said. “Just, ‘Don’t worry about me, I’m going to be fine.’”

Parton was laid to rest in Nashville on Aug. 28 beside Dean, who died at age 82 in March 2025.

At the time, about a dozen of Parton’s loved ones gathered at her Nashville burial site, Woodlawn Memorial Park and Mausoleum.

Page Six obtained exclusive photos of emotional relatives — including Parton’s nephew and head of security, Bryan Seaver, who announced her death on behalf of the family — arriving with flowers in hand, with several exchanging hugs and wiping tears.

Page Six heard that Seaver was “in charge” of Parton’s Aug. 28 burial, as he coordinated with police and security personnel and greeted people when they arrived.

Our source also said that “it was a very simple ceremony” because “that’s all Dolly wanted.”

It’s believed Parton was buried in a cotton dress and her signature stilettos.

“Dolly called me and said she wants to rest in a beautiful bed of plush cotton because, after a life wearing heavy rhinestones, she finally deserves to be comfortable and have some rest,” Seaver said when sharing the news of her passing.

Before her death, Parton canceled multiple Dollywood appearances due to health issues that she said she “just didn’t pay attention to” while caring for Dean prior to his passing.

The Grammy Award winner passed away after a “brief battle” with unspecified cancer.