Dolly Parton was 80 years old when she entered the hospital for what appeared to be a simple case of dehydration.
It was Friday, August 21, in Nashville. Four days later, she died at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by her family.
Her representatives confirmed that the cause was a brief battle with cancer, although they never revealed what type she had.
Before that, TMZ revealed that she was also struggling with kidney and autoimmune problems that worsened within a matter of hours.
The most difficult thing to process, those who surrounded her say, is that not even they saw the end coming. They knew she was in fragile health, had seen her cancel appearances and appear via video call at the opening of an attraction at Dollywood, but they trusted that she would recover as she had on other occasions. Her nephew Bryan Seaver was the one who had to announce, with his voice breaking, that this time Dolly’s body could not hold on. 💔