Dolly Parton's niece has shared a moving tribute to the country music icon after she was laid to rest at a service attended by her loved ones.Lainey Parton honored her 'granny' Dolly and praised the Jolene singer – who died on August 25 at 80 after a brief battle with cancer – for treating her and the rest of her nieces and nephews and grandchildren as if they were her own children 'because she couldn’t have kids of her own.'Parton's niece shared her memorial post after the country superstar's relatives gathered at Woodlawn Memorial Park and Mausoleum in Nashville, where Parton was laid to rest in high heels in the same mausoleum that houses the remains of her late husband, Carl Dean. 'This is a really hard post for me to make. I wanted to wait until after my granny was laid to rest yesterday before I tried to put any of this into words,' Lainey began her lengthy caption alongside photos of herself through the years with her 'granny.''From the time I was little, my granny always had a way of making me feel like I was enough. She never made my dreams feel too big or made me feel like I couldn’t do something. She believed in me before I even knew how to believe in myself,' she wrote. 'Most people can think of at least one bad memory with everyone in their family. I honestly can’t think of one with her.' Dolly Parton's niece, Lainey Parton (pictured above on the left), has shared a moving tribute to the country music icon after she was laid to rest at a service attended by her loved onesParton's niece went on to note that the entertainer never had any children, which became impossible due to Parton's struggles with endometriosis and an eventual partial hysterectomy in her 30s.'Because she couldn’t have kids of her own, she always made us feel like we were hers. She loved us that way, and I’ll forever be grateful for that,' Lainey wrote.She added that one of her most meaningful memories was of when her aunt enlisted her as a vocalist on her 2024 album Smoky Mountain DNA: Family, Faith & Fables.At the time, Parton described the LP as her favorite album while speaking with the Associated Press. 'This really involves, you know, my grandmas and my grandpas, my uncles and my aunts and all the people going all the way back that had the biggest influence on my life,' Parton said in an interview. 'The ones that I remember from being little, and it even goes on farther back from there.'Parton went on to share that influence with a younger generation by enlisting her niece Lainey to provide additional vocals on Smoky Mountain DNA. 'One memory I’ll always hold onto is when she asked me to sing with her on her @smokymountaindna album,' Lainey wrote. 'I was a freshman in high school and SO nervous. But she had a way of making me feel like nothing bad could happen. She made me feel safe, confident, and like I belonged right there beside her.'Lainey also praised the late country superstar for her never-ending supply of encouragement. 'As I got older, she continued to believe in me. When I told her I wanted to go to beauty school, she never questioned why I wasn’t going to college. She told me she couldn’t see me doing anything else,' Parton's niece recalled. 'She financially supported me through school and helped me get my career started. She didn’t just tell me to chase my dreams, she helped me get there.'Lainey added that her collaborations with her aunt didn't end with an album feature. Lainey Parton (L) honored her 'granny' Dolly and praised the Jolene singer – who died on August 25 at 80 after a secret battle with cancer – for treating her and the rest of her nieces and nephews and grandchildren as if they were her own children 'because she couldn’t have kids of her own' One fun snap showed Lainey wearing an enormous blond wig, presumably as a tribute to her aunt's towering platinum wigs 'One memory I’ll always hold onto is when she asked me to sing with her on her @smokymountaindna album,' Lainey wrote 'I was a freshman in high school and SO nervous. But she had a way of making me feel like nothing bad could happen. She made me feel safe, confident, and like I belonged right there beside her,' she added Lainey collaborated with her aunt on Parton's 2024 Smoky Mountain DNA album, which she called her 'favorite' release in her discography'I’m so thankful I said yes to the opportunities and memories I got to share with her as my Aunt Dolly, including being in a movie with her,' she continued. 'I’m so glad I have those moments to look back on now. I have things I can watch, hear, and hold onto when I miss her.'Parton's niece added that it 'still doesn’t feel real that she’s gone.' 'I’m going to miss her voice, her laugh, her hugs, and just knowing she was there. I’m even going to miss those 4 AM calls, and I’d give anything to see her name pop up on my phone again,' Lainey continued.After thanking her friends and followers for sharing their condolences, Parton's niece wrote that she feels 'incredibly lucky that I got to call her my granny.''Thank you for always believing in me, loving me, and making me feel like I could do anything,' she concluded, adding, 'I love you, Granny. Always.'Although it was assumed that Parton had been laid to rest on Friday when her family and loved ones were spotted gathering at the Woodlawn Memorial Park and Mausoleum in Nashville – where her late husband is interred – it wasn't until Lainey's post a day later that it was confirmed that Parton's funeral service had taken place.Lainey shared photos of herself and her aunt throughout the years, going back to a sweet photo of herself posing with her aunt Dolly on a sofa when she was a young child. Another fun snap showed Lainey wearing an enormous blond wig, presumably as a tribute to her aunt's towering platinum wigs. Parton's niece went on to note that the entertainer never had any children, which became impossible due to Parton's struggles with endometriosis and an eventual partial hysterectomy in her 30s 'Because she couldn’t have kids of her own, she always made us feel like we were hers. She loved us that way, and I’ll forever be grateful for that,' Lainey wroteAmong her photos were several images of her collaborations with the songstress, including performances on stage and on screen related to Parton's Smoky Mountain DNA album. The sweet remembrance from Parton's niece comes after the singer–songwriter's younger sister Stella opened up about how Parton continued her quest to help the world, even throughout her dying days. Stella, who is one of the country icon's 11 siblings, took to Facebook on Thursday to pay tribute to her sister, saying she was ready to use her own health struggles to bring about positive change for others. ‘My sister was one of the most generous, thoughtful and kind people I’ve ever known,’ Stella, 77, stated. ‘What the world saw is exactly who she was, so much so, she told me recently that if there was no hope for her, she would still allow her medical team to try experimental drugs in the hope of helping others in the future.’She added: ‘If anyone gets to heaven I’m sure she made it right on time. I know she’s showing out big time, in all her sparkles and shine. That was my sister’s way.’Stella, who is also a singer–songwriter, also gave fans a glimpse into her weekly routine with Dolly.‘Every Tuesday about this time, before the sun came up and the world was still asleep, she and I for many years had our coffee together over the phone,’ Stella continued. ‘Being little farm girls we’ve continued to be early risers. As she liked to say; “shoot Tedda we get more work done before the sun comes up than most folks do all day long!”‘We would catch up on gossip, as sisters do, and drink coffee and make plans as it has always been our way.’ The sweet remembrance from Parton's niece comes after the singer–songwriter's younger sister Stella (L) opened up about how Parton continued her quest to help the world, even throughout her dying days Stella, 77, who is a singer–songwriter in her own right, gave fans a glimpse into her weekly routine with Dolly. Stella is seen at left with Dolly (right) and another of their sisters, Freida (center) Stella (center) is seen with Dolly and Frieda in a 1981 photoAs touched on by Stella, Dolly is being remembered for her generosity, particularly in her efforts to aid childhood literacy. The star was instrumental in donating hundreds of millions of books to children through her Imagination Library.Dolly also donated $1 million to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in April 2020, which funded research that helped create a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.Stella urged fans to honor Parton’s legacy by showing ‘more kindness,’ lifting others up and giving ‘more of your time and resources as she continued to do to the very end.’After thanking followers for the outpouring of love and respect, she concluded by saying how the legend had impacted her forever and asked all to follow her sister’s example.Stella wrote: ‘Dolly loved the world and everyone in it. I would criticize and complain about it and she would laugh and say; “shoot Tedda, we’ve got more important things to do than worry about their silly asses.”‘She was right and she proved it every day.’The fourth of 12 children, Dolly was born in Pittman Center, Tennessee, on January 19, 1946. ‘We would catch up on gossip, as sisters do, and drink coffee and make plans as it has always been our way,’ Stella (second right) shared about her sibling (pictured at the Coat of Many Colors Hollwood premiere) Parton was one of 12 siblings, including Willadeene, David Wilburn, Coy Denver, Bobby Lee, Stella Mae (left), Cassie Nan, Randle Huston 'Randy,' Larry Gerald, twins Floyd (right) and Freida Estelle (second left) and Rachel Ann, were raised in the Great Smoky Mountains where they slept on beds made of straw and lived with no running water, gas or electricity. Parton enjoyed an illustrious music career that spanned an incredible six decades and was arguably best known for her hits Jolene and 9 to 5She and her siblings, Willadeene, David Wilburn, Coy Denver, Bobby Lee, Stella Mae, Cassie Nan, Randle Huston 'Randy,' Larry Gerald, twins Floyd and Freida Estelle and Rachel Ann, were raised in the Great Smoky Mountains where they slept on beds made of straw and lived with no running water, gas or electricity.After developing a love of music at an early age, Dolly sang frequently on the local radio and made television appearances in East Tennessee as a child before releasing her first single, Puppy Love, at the age of 13.She then went on to enjoy an illustrious music career that spanned an incredible six decades and was arguably best known for her hits Jolene and 9 to 5.Stella’s statement comes after Dolly's niece Rebecca Seaver paid tribute to the country music star on Wednesday.Rebecca, whose mother is Dolly's 75-year-old sister Cassie, revealed the family's pain at her aunt's passing. ‘Today, the grief we feel is insurmountable because of the enormous amount of love we all have for Dolly Rebecca Parton,’ she stated.