Reba McEntire Recalls Last Phone Call With Dolly Parton Before Her Death

Reba McEntire will hold her final conversation with longtime friend Dolly Partonbefore her death at 80.

"Well, it took us a long time to connect because of our schedules and things, and it was really special when we finally did connect and get to talk," McEntire, 71, told Entertainment Tonightin a Friday, September 25, interview. "I didn't want to keep her. I knew she was busy ‘cause she always is, but I didn't want to let her go."

According to McEntire, Parton had reached out again just weeks before she died.

"She did call me the last of July, and I was in a meeting and I missed her call," the Reba alum recalled on Friday. "I tried to get back in touch with her and I couldn't, [we] never made connection. And then when Lisa Davis, my buddy, called me the morning of the 25th and she said, ‘Dolly's gone.' I thought, ‘I'll never know why she called me.' So, I'll find out one day."

Us confirmed on August 25 that Parton died after a private battle with an undisclosed form of cancer. McEntire, for her part, subsequently issued an emotional social media tribute to Parton.

"Well, I just got the news that my buddy Dolly passed onto the higher and greater side. Dolly, thank you for all the wonderful things you did for us here on earth," she captioned an Instagram tribute last month. "Your love, your music and you gave so much with your huge huge heart. There will never ever be another you."

She continued, "We will remember and cherish every memory and every note you ever played and sang. Thank you, Lord, for Dolly. She's gonna have a blast in heaven singing all her favorite songs with all her family and friends who have gone on before her."

McEntire further stated that she would "never forget" the pals' first introduction and their last conversation.

"I hold it with love in my heart," she concluded at the time.

While speaking with ET the next month, McEntire reiterated her favorite

"What a blessing she was for all of us," the Voice alum, who later led an emotional 2026 Emmys tribute to Parton, added with a smile.

The "Jolene" singer is survived by several of her siblings, nieces and nephews, who came together to lay Parton to rest beside her late husband, Carl Dean.

"She wanted to keep it very quiet, and the word keeps getting brought up, ‘a funeral.' I don't believe that is really the case in the situation," her cousin Richie Owenssaid on the Today show earlier in September. "It was a burial to be buried beside her husband, and she wanted it very small. … It was very quiet, very quickly done and not for any bad reasons whatsoever. It's just what she wanted. She wanted to keep it very, very private."

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This story was originally published September 27, 2026 at 7:29 AM.