Dolly Parton’s older brother, David Wilburn Parton, has died. He was 82.
Their sister, Stella Parton, announced the sad news on social media on Friday, Nov. 15.
“My brother David passed away peacefully this morning,” Stella, 75, wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “It’s never easy to say goodbye to a loved one but he got his angel wings and is now at peace.”
“My brother David was always referred to as sweet David because of his kindness, loyalty and soft spoken demeanor. He was also a US Marine,” Stella said in a second tweet.
On Facebook, Stella wrote, “It’s never easy to lose a loved one. My wonderful brother David Parton passed in the early hours of the morning.”
She added in a follow-up post, “Thank you for all your kind thoughts to my family as we continue to grieve the loss of our much loved and cherished oldest brother David.”
David’s obituary confirmed that he passed away at his home in White Pine, Tennessee. His funeral is being held on Tuesday at Leadvale Baptist Church.
Dolly, 78, has yet to publicly comment on her brother’s passing.
The Post has reached out to Dolly’s rep for comment.
David was a retired bridge builder superintendent for Simpson Construction. He worked on the bridges in the Kingsport, Johnson City, and Knoxville areas.
“The family would like to extend special thanks to Dr. David McNabney, Smoky Mountain Home Health & Hospice, his Cornerstone caregiver, Aubrie Smith & caregiver, Robin Schmidt,” the obituary said.
David is survived by many family members include his wife of 45 years, Kay Parton, his daughters Donna and Dena, and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
David was the second-oldest sibling of the 11 Parton kids. His living brothers and sisters include Willadeene, 84, Coy, 81, Dolly, Robert Jr., 76, Stella, Cassie, 73, Freida, 67, and Rachel, 65. He had three other siblings, Randy, Larry and Floyd, who all died before him.
Randy was the most recent Parton sibling to pass away, not including David. He died of cancer at age 67 in 2021.
Dolly released a statement on Facebook at the time mourning her brother.
“My brother Randy has lost his battle with cancer,” the “Jolene” singer wrote. “The family and I are grieving his loss but we know he is in a better place than we are at this time.”
“We are a family of faith and we believe that he is safe with God and that he is joined by members of the family that have gone on before and have welcomed him with joy and open arms,” she added.
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