Dolly Parton’s Brother, David Parton, Dies at 82

Dolly Parton’s brother, David Parton, has died. He was 82.

Dolly’s sister Stella Parton shared the news via X on Friday, November 15, writing, “My brother David Passed away peacefully this morning. It’s never easy to say goodbye to a loved one but he got his angel wings and is now at peace.”

In a separate post made via Facebook on Friday, Stella, 75, wrote, “It’s never easy to lose a loved one. My wonderful brother David Parton passed in the early hours of the morning.”

In another post, she thanked those who had reached out to share their condolences. “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,” Stella wrote via Facebook on Saturday, November 16.

An obituary posted by the Farrar Funeral Home in White Pine, Tennessee, confirmed that David “passed away at his home” on Friday. His cause of death was not revealed.

Unlike his famous family members, David kept out of the spotlight for much of his life. At the time of his death, David was a retired bridge builder superintendent for Simpson Construction.

“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 continued.

David is survived by his wife, Kay Parton, whom he was married to for 45 years, and three children, as well as grandchildren and great grandchildren. He was the oldest son out of Dolly’s 11 siblings, which included six brothers and five sisters: Willadeene, 84, Coy, 81, Robert Jr., 76, Stella, Cassie, 73, Frieda, 67, Rachel 65, and Randy, Larry and Floyd, who have already died.

The “Jolene” singer, 78, has not shared any public comments regarding the death of her brother. She had recently celebrated the release of a collaboration album made with her family, titled Smoky Mountain DNA: Family, Faith and Fables.

“I owe so much to all the family members past and present who have inspired me along this musical journey,” Dolly wrote via Instagram on Friday following the album’s release. “I am honored to spotlight our families’ musical legacy that is my Smoky Mountain DNA.”

“I grew up in a very musical family, all my mother’s people were very musical, so I was always around people playing instruments and singing, and my mom singing the old songs,” Dolly shared in a September 2020 interview with People. “So that was just part of my being and I just knew I loved it. I just continued doing that, it was just a natural thing.”