Stella Parton says her sister Dolly Parton was “definitely prepared” and at peace when she died late last month after battling cancer.
“I know she was at peace,” Stella Parton told “CBS Mornings” co-host Gayle King in an exclusive interview.
“I could always tell by looking at her face, even if I hadn’t seen her in months. On camera, I could tell if she was hurt, angry, happy or sad, or felt bad. I could see it on her,” Stella Parton said.
Fans are still mourning the death of Dolly – a country music superstar, businesswoman, philanthropist and visionary.
But to Stella Parton, the larger-than-life legend was simply a big sister who she spoke to on the phone every Tuesday morning over coffee.
“She knew where she was goin’,” Stella Parton said about how her sister felt before she died. “She wasn’t goin’ anywhere bad. She was going to be with Mama and Daddy.”
Stella Parton sat down with King at RCA Studio A, a music recording studio in Nashville where Dolly Parton recorded some of her most memorable songs. She recalled being just 7 years old when her sister, who was 10 at the time, started her career in TV and music, becoming “like a bird that just flew off. “
The girl who was raised in poverty in rural Tennessee later launched into stardom.
Throughout her career, Dolly Parton was married to Carl Thomas Dean. He died last year, in March, after nearly 60 years of marriage.
Stella Parton said Carl “was quiet and shy,” and that he “adored” Dolly.
“He was fascinated with her. He thought she was funny like Tinker Bell, you know?” she said.
They had a sweet, private romance, according to Stella Parton. And while he was proud of her and “loved her enough to let her be what she was,” he would have preferred things to be different in some ways, she suggested.
“He would rather her be at the house with her hair up in a ponytail and barefooted, cookin’ in the kitchen and just, you know, messin’ around the house. That’s, I think, that’s what he would have preferred,” Stella Parton said.
She said Dolly Parton was “very sad” after Carl died but that she doesn’t think that’s why her sister became ill.
“I know their relationship was very unique and very deep and loyal. And I think it broke her heart to see him in the shape he, you know, got to before he passed away,” she said. “But I don’t think that’s what made her sick. I think my sister worked so hard for so long and just kept going. You know, even to the last conversation I had with her, she was working. That was her passion.”
Stella Parton said her sister was “a good businesswoman,” which is why she famously kept her political opinions private.
“She had an opinion about things but she never shared any of that,” Stella Parton said.
The star was also consistent in maintaining her iconic image – even privately.
Stella Parton said she never saw her sister without makeup “after she got to be Dolly Parton.”
“She would sleep in her makeup when she’d come spend the night with me,” Stella Parton said.
While the public has seen an outpouring of support since her death, Stella Parton said she hasn’t personally heard from anyone in Nashville.
“I haven’t had one condolence from anyone, anybody that I know, entertainers that I know. Nobody,” she said.
“I’m assuming it might be because of my political, you know, activism on social media. I don’t know,” she added.
Stella Parton said when it comes to her sister, it’s her optimism that she will miss the most, “because she was the most optimistic person I ever knew.” And she wants her sister to be remembered as sweet, kind, loving, talented and brilliant.
“Her creativity had no bounds, you know? And she could dream bigger than anybody,” Stella Parton said. “And I want young people, young– young girls and boys that may think they have no opportunity to dream, coming from our situation; she gave us permission to dream that way.”
