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Dolly Parton guest-starred as “Aunt Dolly,” seen here in a sparkly denim outfit alongside Billy Ray Cyrus and a young Miley Cyrus on the show’s recording studio set. | Source: Facebook/BillyRayCyrus
Dolly Parton guest-starred as “Aunt Dolly,” seen here in a sparkly denim outfit alongside Billy Ray Cyrus and a young Miley Cyrus on the show’s recording studio set. | Source: Facebook/BillyRayCyrusCountry Music
Dolly’s Final Message to Billy Ray
That decades-old memory is what made Dolly’s last message to him land so hard. Billy Ray wrote that Dolly had recently reached out to him directly, with a message he described simply as beautiful.
Billy Ray Cyrus, Dolly Parton, and Miley Cyrus attend MusiCares Person of the Year honoring Dolly Parton in Los Angeles on February 8, 2019. | Source: Getty Images
Billy Ray Cyrus, Dolly Parton, and Miley Cyrus attend MusiCares Person of the Year honoring Dolly Parton in Los Angeles on February 8, 2019. | Source: Getty Images
“Dolly recently sent me a beautiful message, telling me she loved me with her whole heart,” he wrote. He said he intends to carry that love forward the exact same way: “I will always love her in the same way ….. with my whole heart … and I always will.”
Billy Ray did not specify the exact date the message was sent or the platform Dolly used to reach him. He closed his tribute by saying he has “so many moments and memories” with her, adding that it is hard to know where to even begin telling them.Pop Music
Performing live together: Dolly Parton, elegant in a grey sequined dress, and Billy Ray Cyrus sing duets on stage during an outdoor concert appearance. | Source: Facebook/BillyRayCyrus
Performing live together: Dolly Parton, elegant in a grey sequined dress, and Billy Ray Cyrus sing duets on stage during an outdoor concert appearance. | Source: Facebook/BillyRayCyrus
Miley’s Farewell to ‘Aunt Dolly’
Miley shared her own tribute separately, choosing to keep most of what passed between her and Dolly private. In an Instagram post, she wrote that losing “Aunt Dolly” felt like more than she could put into words.
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“Our most sacred moments were private and they’ll stay there behind the stage, beneath the glamour & between our hearts,” she wrote. She did offer one glimpse into their final exchanges, though.
Miley revealed that one of her last conversations with Dolly centered on music and metamorphosis, a theme she punctuated with a single butterfly emoji.
She said she knows exactly what Dolly would want from her now: to feel the loss fully, turn it into a song, and keep moving forward with strength. “I have an angel by my side. I always have,” she wrote.
Miley closed her post by saying her heart breaks for Dolly’s family, her friends, and fans across the world who will miss her. She added that she believes they will all “see her in all of the most beautiful things” going forward.Online Image Galleries
A Sister’s Farewell
Among the most intimate tributes to emerge since Dolly’s passing has been the one from her younger sister, Stella Parton, 77. In a Facebook tribute posted on August 27, 2026, Stella opened a window into the private world the two sisters shared for decades — one built on early mornings, strong coffee, and the kind of honesty only family can offer.
Stella revealed that for many years, she and Dolly kept a standing Tuesday morning ritual: a phone call before sunrise, when they would catch up on gossip, make plans, and simply be sisters.
“Every Tuesday about this time, before the sun came up and the world was still asleep, she and I for many years had our coffee together over the phone,” Stella wrote. As farm girls who never lost the habit of rising early, she recalled Dolly joking that they got more done before dawn than most people managed all day.
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But it was a detail about Dolly’s final days that stopped many readers cold. Stella wrote:
“What the world saw is exactly who she was, so much so, she told me recently that if there was no hope for her, she would still allow her medical team to try experimental drugs in the hope of helping others in the future.”Country Music
It was, Stella said, entirely in character: “My sister was always thinking of others.” She urged fans to honor Dolly’s legacy the same way — by showing more kindness, lifting others up, and giving more of their time and resources, just as Dolly did to the very end.
As we previously reported, the bond between Dolly and Miley went far deeper than a celebrity friendship — Dolly, who never had children of her own, had poured that love into her goddaughter from the very beginning.
The country music legend was married to her husband, Carl Thomas Dean, for nearly 59 years. The two, who tied the knot on May 30, 1966, had no kids. Dolly opened up about why she never had kids.
In 1982, the singer experienced painful abdominal bleeding that forced her to seek medical help and cancel a tour. Again, in 1984, she went through a partial hysterectomy and was told she would never be able to have kids.
This news put the singer into a two-year depression and pushed her into scaling down her professional commitments. She admitted that the period was a horrible time for her but that she viewed it as a message from God, who was telling her to slow down so that she could deal with the stuff in her life.