Dolly Parton’s younger sister Frieda has paid tribute to the country music legend, recalling how the superstar helped raise her and became a second mother during her teenage years.
Writing on Facebook on Saturday, August 29, four days after Parton died aged 80 following a brief battle with cancer, Frieda described her sister as her “Dolly Momma” and asked the family’s supporters to pray for them as they mourned.
Frieda, 69, a performer whose music spans country and hard rock, said Dolly had cared for her from the age of 13 until she was 18. She also remembered the pair sharing a bed as children because they were both afraid of the dark.
Although their relationship included arguments and disagreements, Frieda said she had never stopped loving her sister. She recalled Dolly’s encouragement when she performed and joked that she had refused her advice to wear one of her wigs at Dollywood.
“I know to the entire world, she was a superstar, but to me, she was my Dolly Momma,” Frieda wrote.
She told followers that she planned to honour Dolly Parton’s legacy by continuing to share the kindness and love her sister had shown to others, even during the most difficult days of her grief.
Frieda also revealed that she had begun work on a special project dedicated to Dolly, describing it as a way of preserving their bond while sharing her sister’s memory with fans.
Parton died on August 25 at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville, surrounded by loved ones, according to a statement from her representative. The nature of the cancer was not disclosed.
