Dolly Parton’s Family Makes Tragic Announcement: ‘It’s Never Easy’

Country icon Dolly Parton lost one of her closest family members, who passed away peacefully over the weekend.

David Wilburn Parton, her brother, died on Friday morning, according to their sister Stella Parton. He was 82. “My brother David passed away peacefully this morning,” Stella, 75, wrote on X, the New York Post reported. “It’s never easy to say goodbye to a loved one but he got his angel wings and is now at peace.” She added, “My brother David was always referred to as sweet David because of his kindness, loyalty and soft spoken demeanor. He was also a US Marine.”

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The announcement was elucidated by another on Facebook. “It’s never easy to lose a loved one. My wonderful brother David Parton passed in the early hours of the morning,” Stella wrote. “Thank you for all your kind thoughts to my family as we continue to grieve the loss of our much loved and cherished oldest brother David.”

An obituary for David Parton confirmed he died at his home in White Pine, Tennessee. A funeral will be held Tuesday at Leadvale Baptist Church. Whether Dolly, 78, will be there is unknown as she has not yet spoken publicly about her loss. “The family would like to extend special thanks to Dr. David McNabney, Smoky Mountain Home Health & Hospice, his Cornerstone caregiver, Aubrie Smith & caregiver, Robin Schmidt,” the obituary read.

Before retiring, David was a bridge builder superintendent with Simpson Construction. Some of the projects completed and overseen in his career included bridges in the Kingsport, Johnson City, and Knoxville areas. He is survived by Kay Parton, his wife of 45 years, as well as his daughters Donna and Dena, and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. David was the second-oldest sibling of the 11 Parton kids. His living brothers and sisters include Willadeene, 84, Coy, 81, Dolly, Robert Jr., 76, Stella, Cassie, 73, Freida, 67, and Rachel, 65. He had three other siblings, Randy, Larry and Floyd, who all died before him.

Tragedy last struck the Parton clan in 2021 when Dolly’s brother Randy passed away from cancer at age 67. “My brother Randy has lost his battle with cancer,” the “Jolene” singer wrote. “The family and I are grieving his loss but we know he is in a better place than we are at this time. We are a family of faith and we believe that he is safe with God and that he is joined by members of the family that have gone on before and have welcomed him with joy and open arms.”

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