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

Dolly Parton with her siblings, including brother Coy 'Denver', and onstage in 2024
Dolly Parton’s brother Coy ‘Denver’ Parton has died (Picture: Instagram/@dollyparton/Shutterstock)

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

Denver, pictured below Dolly in this family photo, was 82 (Picture: Instagram/@dollyparton)
The crane operator lived away from the spotlight compared to Dolly and some of their other siblings (Picture: Terry Wyatt/WireImage)

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.

Metro has contacted Dolly Parton’s rep for comment.

More to follow.

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