Since the passing of country music legend and Tennessee icon Dolly Parton, flowers, handwritten remembrances and other tributes have been piling up at de facto memorial sites around Nashville and the surrounding area. Nashville Public Radio’s news team has been out listening to grieving fans and gathering photographs. Here are a few of those moments.
Tasha A.F. Lemley WPLN NewsEast Nashville resident Heather Yockey sends a message to Dolly on her lawn’s retaining wall. She says she’s been experimenting with communal chalk therapy since the pandemic.
Marianna Bacallao WPLN NewsIris Spragens, 8, puts flowers at a Dolly Parton memorial in Nashville, Tennessee on August 25, 2026. .
Justin Barney WPLN NewsFlowers are left at Dolly Parton’s Songteller Hotel in downtown Nashville, scheduled to open in September.
Marianna Bacallao WPLN NewsFlowers and electric candles at a Dolly Parton mural in Nashville on the night of August 25, 2026.
Tasha A.F. Lemley WPLN NewsDurrell Richard, from New Orleans, diverted his route to visit Dolly’s Tennesseean Travel Stop the day she died.
Marianna Bacallao WPLN NewsA memorial to Dolly Parton at her property in Nashville’s 12th South neighborhood.
Justin Barney WPLN NewsA tribute of flowers and signage left by a Dolly Parton fan at a small wall mural in Nashville.
Marianna Bacallao WPLN NewsColin Verano sings “I Will Always Love You” by Dolly Parton, one of several tributes to the late singer at Lipstick Lounge on August 25, 2026.
Tasha A.F. Lemley WPLN NewsFans shop for memorabilia at Dolly’s Tennessean Travel Stop on the afternoon of the country music legend’s passing.
Tasha A.F. Lemley WPLN NewsFans shop at Dolly Parton’s revamped travel stop off I-65, south of Nashville.
Tasha A.F. Lemley WPLN NewsOn the day of Dolly Parton’s death, merch at her Tennessean Travel Stop displays the name of one of the immortal hits for which she’ll be remembered.
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