Dolly Parton Talks Dealing With the Deaths of Fellow Country Music Stars

Country singer Dolly Parton revealed how she's dealing with the death of her friends Loretta Lynn, Naomi Judd and Kenny Rogers.

On Thursday, Dolly Parton sat down in an interview with the " Today " show and spoke about losing the fellow country music stars, whom she referred to as "three of my dearest people in the business."

"With Loretta, she was very dear to me, like a sister. Same with Naomi. We were (the) same age, and we loved the same things. And I loved her. And then I also lost Kenny Rogers — three of my dearest people in the business, in a very short period of time," she said.

Dolly Parton added she "grieves over them almost like you do a family member" and continues to think about them, but tries to "keep the good memories."

"There's that old song ’ Precious Memories ’ the line I love in that song is ‘Precious memories, unseen angels sent from somewhere to my soul’ and I think about that. Those precious memories," she said. "They just flow in and out of you, and you remember special things about them."

Dolly Parton said she still feels their presence.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zx6djcfBjA0

"Like unseen angels, and you feel like they’re still all around you," she explained.

Loretta Lynn died in her sleep on Oct. 4. She was 90 years old.

Dolly Parton posted a tribute to her “sister” and “friend" on her Instagram page.

"I miss her dearly as we all will. May she rest in peace," she wrote.

On April 30, Naomi Judd died by suicide after battling with mental illness. She was 76 years old.

Judd’s daughters, Naomi Judd and Wynonna Judd, announced the news of her passing on Instagram .

Dolly Parton paid tribute to Naomi Judd on her Instagram page and said that they were "close."

Kenny Rogers died on March 20, 2020, from natural causes. He was 81 years old.

Dolly Parton posted a video on her Instagram and paid tribute to her "friend" and "singing partner."

"You never know how much you love somebody until they’re gone," she wrote in the caption.