Floyd Parton, Dolly Parton’s Brother And Longtime Songwriting Partner, Dies At 61

Floyd Parton, who for decades helped his sister Dolly write the songs that made her famous and put her at the top of the charts, has died at the age of 61.

An obituary published on Tennessee’s Atchley Funeral Home website noted that Floyd died on December 6. The notice did not indicate how he died, but reports indicated that he had been seriously ill for many weeks before his death.

After his death, family members remembered Floyd as a talented man and loving brother and uncle.

“A renaissance man, Floyd was a man of many talents and areas of knowledge,” the obituary read. “He was an avid outdoorsman and had an abundant knowledge of nature as well as being an incredible cook. Floyd was a talented songwriter and composer.”

The Parton family was large — Floyd had six sisters and five brothers — and Dolly has said that her childhood in Tennessee was important in shaping her career. Dolly said that their parents encouraged the children to sing, especially at church.

“I grew up in a musical family,” she said in an interview with Hallmark. “All my mother’s people were very music singing at church and at funerals.”

Dolly started her own singing career when she was 10, with her uncle taking her to different places to perform.

She worked with Floyd Parton across her career, and her other siblings and family members have gotten into show business as well. Her younger brother Randy is a singer as well, performing a song for the movie Rhinestone, which also stars Dolly. She told Hallmark that Randy also performs at her theme park Dollywood. Her younger sister Stella Mae Parton is a country music singer as well.

As Taste of Country reported, it is believed that all of Dolly’s 11 siblings have played a role in her music career.

Dolly Parton's Brother and Longtime Songwriting Partner Floyd Parton Dies at 61 https://t.co/6XECANwxVA

— People (@people) December 11, 2018

The entire Parton family has remained close, and have come together to mourn Floyd’s death. Last week, Stella Parton shared an image of her brother on Twitter and a message about his death.

“And Jesus said to him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee. Have a beautiful day on this bright and brisk Thursday. I am spending the day with my beautiful brother Floyd,” she wrote.

Family members had a private funeral for Floyd Parton last week. They asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be sent to the My People Senior Activity Center at 1220 W. Main Street, Sevierville, Tenn., 37862.