Dolly Parton’s Family Shares Statement After Her Death: ‘The Doors She Opened Made And Changed History’

Country music legend Dolly Parton was known for her timeless songs such as “I Will Always Love You” and “Jolene,” her unmistakable singing voice, her charismatic and charming personality, her glitzy style and her always-giving heart.

Just as undeniable was her strong relationship and dedication to her family.

It was a member of Parton’s family, her nephew and longtime head of security Bryan Seaver, who made the announcement that Parton had died on Aug.

25, 2026, at age 80.

Seaver, representing the Owens and Parton families, announced the passing of country music icon Dolly Parton in a social media video.

“This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago, before I fully absorbed it as a future reality,” Seaver said in the video.

“As her head of security for more than two decades, a role my father Larry held before me, I have imagined the heaviness of this moment, but haven’t truly felt it until now.

It is an honor, an honor that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness.

But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly.

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.” Seaver recalled, “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.

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 believed that anything was possible.

She never saw a door she couldn’t open and the doors she opened made and changed history.