Dolly Parton’s Family Speaks Out After Her Death at 80

Dolly Parton’s Brother, Coy “Denver” Parton, Dead at 82The love Dolly Parton’s family feels for her is like a butterfly. And despite their heartache after the beloved singer’s death at age 80, they will continue to remember her, as soft and gentle as a sigh. “Sadness lies with us, not with Dolly,” her nephew Bryan Seaver said in the Aug. 25 video announcing her passing. “Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus.” There, Seaver stressed, Parton was “surely met” by her late husband Carl Thomas Dean, as well as her parents and “countless others who have watched her and longed for her to meet them in the heavens.” Parton’s nephew—who also acted as her head of security after his father retired from the position—stressed the impact the “Jolene” singer had, both on his family and far beyond. “Dolly opened doors not just for me, but for her entire family to reach the potential we didn't even know was possible,” Seaver added. “Dolly also opened doors for generations of singers, songwriters, musicians, and dreamers from every walk of life and across every continent."He added, "By her example, we believed that anything was possible. She never saw a door she couldn't open, and the doors she opened made and changed history.” Now, her family ask everyone to embrace the special moments they had with her.Andrew Lipovsky/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images“My family and I have shared a lifetime of beautiful memories with Dolly, but so have you,” he noted. “She has always been on your television, your record player, your CD, and on your phone playlist, becoming an extended part of your family, whether you liked it or not. Our family and the team she has entrusted with her legacy will work diligently to ensure her spirit will live with us forever.” Seaver explained that he shared the news of his aunt’s passing via video at her request, an ask she’d made years earlier. “I have imagined the heaviness of this moment, but haven't truly felt it until now,” he added. “It is an honor, an honor that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness.”Dolly Parton/InstagramHe also shared insight into Parton’s vision for how she’d be laid to eternal rest. “Dolly called me and said she wants to rest in a beautiful bed of plush cotton,” he said, “because after a life wearing heavy rhinestones, she finally deserves to be comfortable and have some rest.”And for those fans mourning the Queen of Country, he closed on an important reminder: “She will always love you.” For a look back at Parton’s decades in the spotlight, read on. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images1955Nancy Barr Brandon/MediaPunch/Shutterstock1960Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images1965Nancy Barr Brandon/MediaPunch/ShutterstockLate 1960sMichael Ochs Archives/Getty Images1974MediaPunch/Shutterstock1975NBC/NBCU Photo Bank1977Gary Null/NBC197720th Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock19809 to 5Universal/Kobal/Shutterstock1982The Best Little Whorehouse in TexasNBC/NBCU Photo Bank1989Tri-Star/Kobal/Shutterstock1989Steel MagnoliasPaul DrinkwaterNBC/NBCU Photo Bank1990Gary Null/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank1991Margaret Norton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank1993Margaret Norton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank1994Margaret Norton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank1995Margaret Norton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank1999NBC/NBCU Photo Bank1999Paul Drinkwater/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank2003Paul Drinkwater/NBCU Photo Bank2008Peter Kramer/NBC/NBC NewsWire2012Douglas Gorenstein/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank2014Peter Kramer/NBC/NBC NewsWire2014Paul Drinkwater/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank2015Quantrell Colbert/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank2015Virginia Sherwood/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank2016Andrew Lipovsky/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank2018Katherine Bomboy/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank2019Nathan Congleton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank2019For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App