Dolly Parton Pays Heartbreaking Tribute To Her Uncle Billy Owens Who Passed Away

Country music icon and businesswoman Dolly Parton tragically just lost her much-loved uncle Billy Earl Owens. He was a renowned country music songwriter who died on April 7 at the age of 85.  On her website, Parton paid a lovely tribute to Owens, saying that she would never have found the success that she has without him.

Parton Pays Tribute To Her Uncle

“I’ve lost my beloved Uncle Bill Owens. I knew my heart would break when he passed, and it did. I’ll start this eulogy by saying I wouldn’t be here if he hadn’t been there,” wrote Parton, 75. 

“He was there… there in my young years to encourage me to keep playing my guitar, to keep writing my songs, to keep practicing my singing,” she added.

“And he was there to help build my confidence standing on stage where he was always standing behind me or close beside me with his big ol’ red Gretsch guitar.”

She even wrote a song called “Uncle Billy” to show him how much he meant to her.

From many years ago:

Related: Dolly Parton Breaks Down As She Pays Tribute To Longtime Friend Kenny Rogers

Parton Credits Her Uncle For Helping Her Get Her Start

Parton went on to explain that it was Owens who took her back and forth from Nashville for her gigs and “walked up-&-down the streets with me, knocking on doors to get me signed up to labels or publishing companies.”

“It’s really hard to say or to know for sure what all you owe somebody for your success,” the “Heartstrings” actress continued.

“But I can tell you for sure that I owe Uncle Billy an awful lot,” she wrote, adding that he was “so many things.”

Parton then talked about how much her uncle loved music, saying that she wrote many songs with him over the years.

“The biggest one being ‘Put It Off Until Tomorrow.’ We won our first big award on that one back in 1966. It was the BMI Song of the Year,” she explained. 

Fox News reported that Owens also wrote songs for Kris Kristofferson, Loretta Lynn, Ricky Skaggs, and Porter Wagoner.

Owens Was Down-To-Earth And Low-Key

Parton said that her uncle was so low-key that many of their relatives were not aware of all that he did behind the scenes. She said, they “don’t even know all of the great things that Uncle Bill did behind the scenes through his life. But the greatest thing he ever did for me was to help me see my dreams come true and for that I will be forever grateful.”

“I’m sure that Uncle Bill’s friends, fans, his wife Sandy, his kids, grandkids and great-grandkids will join me when I say that we will always love you,” Parton concluded.

“Rest in peace, Uncle Bill.” 

This comes at a difficult time for Parton, as she only just lost her 67-year-old brother Randy to cancer in January as well as her good friend Kenny Rogers last year.

Please pray for Parton and her family during this time of mourning and sorrow for them. 

Full Story: Dolly Parton Devastated After Her Beloved Brother Randy Passes Away