Dolly Parton’s older brother Coy ‘Denver’ Parton dies aged 82

Dolly Parton’s brother Coy ‘Denver’ Parton has died aged 82, just over a year after the music star lost her late husband, Carl Dean.

Parton, of Sevierville, Tennessee, died on Thursday July 23.

Out of the spotlight compared to his famous younger sister, Parton was instead a crane operator who built bridges, as well as a homestead farmer and ‘avid hunter’, according to his obituary from the Atchley Funeral Home.

Denver Parton and Dolly were two of 12 children born to Avie Lee Owens Parton and Robert Lee Parton.

He is the fifth of Dolly’s siblings to die, following her brothers Larry, David, singer Randy Parton and Floyd.

The obituary did not share a cause of death but stated that he was a widower, following the earlier death of his wife, Carolyn Parton.

He is survived by his two daughters, Chris Parton and Jennifer Parton, as well as his grandson, Ian Parton, and seven sisters: Willadeene Buzzeo, Dolly, Stella Parton, Cassie Griffith, Freida Parton, Rachel George and Laura Price.

Denver Parton was also described as ‘perhaps the most private’ of the close-knit family in a 2025 Taste of Country article, alongside the late David Parton and Dolly and Denver’s younger brother, Robert Lee.

It comes after Dolly, 80, whose husband of 60 years, Carl Dean, died in March 2025, has also faced her own health challenges recently.

The 9 to 5 singer cancelled her Las Vegas residency in May, explaining she still ‘has some healing to do’ having initially postponed the dates by a year to this September.

This had previously caused alarm, kicked up a gear by her sister Freida Parton asking for prayers for Dolly, before the star revealed she had been suffering from various medical issues in recent years, including kidney stones.

But as she quickly reassured fans at the time: ‘I ain’t ready to die yet. God ain’t through with me and I ain’t done working. I love you for caring, and keep praying for me.’

In her May update, she compared herself to an ‘old classic car’ which needed its engine to be ‘rebuilt’, joking that her ‘oil pan is leaking’ and her ‘muffler is busted’ – but that once restored, she ‘can be better than ever’.

‘The good news is I’m responding really well to meds and treatments and I’m improving every day. Bad news is it’s gonna take me a little while before I’m up to stage performance level because some of the meds and treatments make me a little bit swimmy headed as my grandma used to say,’ the Jolene vocalist explained.

‘Of course I can’t be dizzy, carrying around banjos, guitars and such on five inch heels. And you know that i’m gonna be wearing them!’

Dolly also said she was ‘truly sorry’ to be missing everyone who had Las Vegas tickets, encouraging fans to go to the city anyway and not cancel their trips.

She reiterated her plans, too, to get her hotel and museum sorted this year, promising that she’s still working on her musicial biopic as well as recording music.

The I Will Always Love You singer also shared some insight into how she was feeling after the death of her husband, Carl, admitting that the year without him had been ‘hard’ for her, but ‘I will always love him and I will always miss him’.

Dolly thanked fans for helping ‘heal’ from the loss, sharing a story about how Carl reminded her she’s ‘not getting any younger’ when she complained about aches and pains.

‘I said, “Well honey, you’ve got to remember that as long as there are plastic surgeons in this world, I’m not getting any older”.’

The county superstar has also told fans that her doctors have informed her ‘everything is treatable’, so she expects to be back soon.

Metro has contacted Dolly Parton’s rep for comment.

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