Dolly Parton has sadly passed away at the age of 80. Before her passing, she shared what song she would want played at her funeral.
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In 2014, she opened up about what she would want to play. The family is planning "a small, private service for immediate family."
"There's a song called 'If We Never Meet Again,'" Parton told "Entertainment Weekly" in 2014. "It's an old country-gospel church song that talks about if we never meet again this side of heaven. I will meet you on that beautiful shore. 'Where the charming roses bloom forever and where separations come no more.' That was my daddy's favorite. We did sing it at his funeral, and I would like it to be sung at mine."
"I'm sure they'll be playing 'I Will Always Love You' when I die, just like they did with Whitney Houston," Parton said at the time. "When they picked her coffin up and started in on that song, I started to cry. And I thought, 'Oh my Lord.' That's when it hit me that she was really gone."
Dolly Parton Revealed Song
Parton passed away "surrounded by loved ones" after a brief battle with cancer. Her family released a statement after his passing.
"Our beloved Dolly Parton spent her life and career bringing joy, laughter, hope and integrity into everything she touched," the statement read. "Her unmatched generosity reached the lives of countless people whom she would never meet, yet she was always there to offer a helping hand," the statement read.
"Whether it be the hundreds of millions of books donated through her invaluable Imagination Library or funding research that helped create a lifesaving vaccine used around the world, Dolly's unconditional love for all people was the guiding force for her lasting impact. After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones," the statement concluded.
The news first dropped when Parton's nephew Bryan Seaver shared that the music icon had died.
"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," he said.
