Dolly Parton’s sister reveals ‘last thing’ country legend asked of her before death

Dolly Parton's sister is sharing the final request she received from the musician.

During a recent interview with " CBS Mornings ," Stella Parton shared the last thing her sister asked of her before her death.

"That’s the last thing Dolly asked me for, was prayer," she recalled.

The legendary musician died Aug.

25 at the age of 80 after a "brief battle with cancer," which she hid from her fans and even some family members.

DOLLY PARTON OFFERED TO TRY EXPERIMENTAL DRUGS IF ‘NO HOPE’ FOR CANCER BATTLE TO HELP OTHERS, SISTER SAYS Stella noted that the family would not be sharing what type of cancer Dolly had "out of respect for her" since Dolly "didn't tell us that we could say it." She added that she is able to speak about her love for her sister, but when it comes to her health, "it's not my business to tell her business." Concerns over the "Jolene" singer's health first arose in September 2025, when she made the difficult decision to postpone a number of shows in Las Vegas, telling fans she needed to undergo a "few procedures." "I want the fans and public to hear directly from me that, unfortunately, I will need to postpone my upcoming Las Vegas concerts," Parton shared online at the time.

"As many of you know, I have been dealing with some health challenges, and my doctors tell me that I must have a few procedures." Shortly after Dolly made her announcement, concern among fans increased when her sister Freida asked fans to pray for Dolly, saying, "Many of you know she hasn’t been feeling her best lately." When speaking with "CBS Mornings," Stella noted, "I think Dolly got on to Freida about that.

DOLLY PARTON’S ONGOING HEALTH BATTLE FORCES COUNTRY LEGEND TO MISS MAJOR DOLLYWOOD EVENT "I'm pretty sure Dolly said, 'You're going to, you know, pipe it down,' because that was the first time people thought 'Oh,'" she said.

"And she knew that Freida was just upset and hurt, but she thought, 'Don't be telling my situation, Freida.

Don't be spilling my business.'" According to Stella, Dolly decided to keep her diagnosis a secret because she "could not bear negative things" and didn't want her fans to worry about her.

Her death came a little over a year after the death of her husband of nearly 60 years, Carl Dean, who died in March 2025 at the age of 82.

While some have speculated Dolly died of a broken heart, Stella doesn't agree.

"I think she was very sad, but I don't think that's why she got sick," Stella said.

"I think she worked too hard and didn't maybe take as good a care of herself as she should have.