Dolly Parton’s Niece Recalls the Last Time She Saw Her, Shares the Poignant Trip She Was Making When Her Aunt Died
Dolly Parton’s Niece Recalls the Last Time She Saw Her, Shares the Poignant Trip She Was Making When Her Aunt Died
Rachel McRadyFri, August 28, 2026 at 2:12 PM UTC
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Rebecca Seaver and Dolly Parton (left); Seaver and her son, Leroy (right)Credit: Rebecca Seaver/Instagram -
Rebecca Ann Seaver shared details of a road trip she was on when her aunt Dolly Parton died
Seaver reflected on their final birthday celebration together, calling it a sacred and meaningful memory
She honored Parton by visiting her favorite road spots and cherishing their shared love of travel
Dolly Parton‘s niece is giving fans a look into her grieving process.
Rebecca Ann Seaver took to Instagram early Friday, Aug. 28, sharing photos from the road trip she was making with her son, Leroy, when her beloved aunt died at the age of 80 earlier this week.
Sharing that she left Nashville on Saturday, Aug. 22—three days before Parton’s death—Seaver documented her travels from Tennessee to California.
“We didn’t know what the week held for us, but we know now that our angels had a plan all along,” wrote Seaver, who is the daughter of Parton’s sister, Cassie, and serves as the executive director of Parton’s Life of Many Colors Museum in Nashville. “We are on a special mission, and even though we feel the grief in our hearts along the way, we have found the resolve to stay the course. The way she intended when we saw her for our birthdays, just a few weeks ago.”
The grieving niece noted that her birthday celebrations with Parton marked their final time with the “9 to 5” singer.
“What we didn’t know then was that it would be the last time,” Seaver wrote.
However, she was glad she prioritized the trip, despite not being in Nashville when Parton died, writing, “Leroy’s education is of the utmost importance to all of us. Especially to his Nana and his Gigi. I am so grateful for those sacred moments together. 🌟”
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Rebecca Seaver and her son, LeroyCredit: Rebecca Seaver/Instagram
The trip proved to be meaningful for the mother and son, who noted that “the road has always been her favorite place to be.”
“We have witnessed immaculate beauty on these highways, the kind that only shows itself when your heart is cracked wide open,” Seaver wrote. “We laughed, we cried, sometimes in the same breath, and we remembered the beautiful moments we shared with her on those same roads, years earlier. We thought about all the miles she put on I-40 through her life. The grief and the gratitude rode together in that car, mile after mile, and somehow that was enough.”
Seaver and her son “stopped at all her favorite road spots we could remember,” as Seaver reflected on becoming an empty nester when her son leaves for school.
“I’ll be headed home to Tennessee in a couple days after you’re settled in your new dorm,” she wrote to her son. “I’ll have a Grand Canyon in my heart, but I know you’ll have your guardian angel here by your side every step of the way. Just don’t drive faster than her butterfly wings can carry her!!”
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Following Parton’s death on Aug. 25, Seaver posted a touching tribute to her aunt, writing, “Today, I embark on a new journey: a life without my most trusted confidant. My best friend, my favorite adventurer, my name-giver, my godmother, my precious Aunt Granny.”
Parton died after a “brief battle with cancer,” her family previously shared with PEOPLE.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
