Dolly Parton's sister is sharing the final request she received from the musician.

During a recent interview with "CBS Mornings," Stella Parton shared the last thing her sister asked of her before her death.

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"That’s the last thing Dolly asked me for, was prayer," she recalled.

The legendary musician died Aug. 25 at the age of 80 after a "brief battle with cancer," which she hid from her fans and even some family members.

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Stella noted that the family would not be sharing what type of cancer Dolly had "out of respect for her" since Dolly "didn't tell us that we could say it." She added that she is able to speak about her love for her sister, but when it comes to her health, "it's not my business to tell her business."

Concerns over the "Jolene" singer's health first arose in September 2025, when she made the difficult decision to postpone a number of shows in Las Vegas, telling fans she needed to undergo a "few procedures."

"I want the fans and public to hear directly from me that, unfortunately, I will need to postpone my upcoming Las Vegas concerts," Parton shared online at the time. "As many of you know, I have been dealing with some health challenges, and my doctors tell me that I must have a few procedures."

Shortly after Dolly made her announcement, concern among fans increased when her sister Freida asked fans to pray for Dolly, saying, "Many of you know she hasn’t been feeling her best lately."

When speaking with "CBS Mornings," Stella noted, "I think Dolly got on to Freida about that.

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"I'm pretty sure Dolly said, 'You're going to, you know, pipe it down,' because that was the first time people thought 'Oh,'" she said. "And she knew that Freida was just upset and hurt, but she thought, 'Don't be telling my situation, Freida. Don't be spilling my business.'"

According to Stella, Dolly decided to keep her diagnosis a secret because she "could not bear negative things" and didn't want her fans to worry about her.

Her death came a little over a year after the death of her husband of nearly 60 years, Carl Dean, who died in March 2025 at the age of 82. While some have speculated Dolly died of a broken heart, Stella doesn't agree.

"I think she was very sad, but I don't think that's why she got sick," Stella said. "I think she worked too hard and didn't maybe take as good a care of herself as she should have. She, at one point, she said, 'You know, I spent a lot of time caring for Carl that maybe I neglected myself.'"

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She went on to say that while it "broke her heart to see him in the shape he" was in before he died, she ultimately believes Dolly's determination to continue working "so hard for so long" contributed to her death.

When speaking about Dolly's relationship with Dean, she referred to it as "very unique and very deep and loyal" and gave Dean credit for being supportive of Dolly and loving "her enough to let her be what she was."

Stella explained that while Dolly was a huge star across the globe, Dean "didn't care about that at all," and if it was up to him, she would have been "at the house with her hair up in a ponytail and barefooted cooking in the kitchen." Stella said even family members rarely saw Dolly without her signature glamorous look after she became a star.

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"Not after she got to be Dolly Parton. No. She would sleep in her makeup when she'd come spend the night with me," Stella said. "Oh, I knew what she looked like. She looked like me without her makeup. So, I knew what she looked like without it."

Her sister also credited Dolly for being a good businesswoman, saying that while she had opinions on politics and other controversial topics, she never shared them because "she would never have offended anyone."

Although Dolly was battling cancer, Stella says she knows her sister was at peace in her final moments.

"She knew where she was going," she said. "She wasn't going anywhere bad. She was going to be with mom and daddy. She was prepared. Yeah, she was definitely prepared."

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When it comes to how she hopes her sister is remembered, Stella said she wants people to think of her as "very sweet, kind, loving, brilliant and so talented."

"Her creativity had no bounds, and she could dream bigger than anybody," Stella said. "And I want young people, young girls and boys that may think they have no opportunity to dream. Coming from our situation, she gave us permission to dream that way."

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The hype continued to ratchet through the offseason.

The Los Angeles Rams corralled former Kansas City Chiefs cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson to stem opponents’ passing games, then traded edge rusher Jared Verse and a first-, second-, third-round pick each to acquire Myles Garrett.

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Garrett, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, would team up with quarterback Matthew Stafford, the reigning MVP.

This, for a team that lost the NFC championship last season by just four points.

So yes, the Rams held the best odds to win the Super Bowl, at +500, per DraftKings. Next in the NFC West came the reigning Super Bowl-champion Seattle Seahawks, their 11-1 odds fourth in the league.

Continue down the list long enough, and fans would find the San Francisco 49ers’ 19-1 odds. Eleven teams were considered better locks to reach the biggest stage.

Then Thursday happened. Or Friday, at the game’s site of Melbourne, Australia.

The San Francisco 49ers, that team so far down the betting list they probably warrant a scroll, beat the Rams in a decisive 27-7 dismantling.

Sure, it’s one game in the first week of the season and the first-ever NFL game in Australia.

But the Rams’ cracks are now evident. And the 49ers’ quiet but powerful strength should scare the rest of the league.

Brock Purdy (13) and the 49ers had the Rams scrambling for answers on Friday in Melbourne, Australia. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake

No matter that 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan missed parts of early training camp due to a car accident that caused a concussion or that reports from the 49ers training camp seemed to float enough injuries to leave electrical substation jokes difficult to ignore.

No matter that the 33rd overall pick of the 2026 NFL Draft, receiver De'Zhaun Stribling, was carted off the field with an ankle injury in the second quarter.

How about 33-year-old Mike Evans, 31-year-old Demarcus Robinson and 30-year-old Deebo Samuel scoring the 49ers’ trio of touchdowns from quarterback Brock Purdy?

The Rams’ defense that was assembled to instill fear instead instilled confidence in the 49ers as they dominated the time of possession.

“The defense was giving us our ones and twos in the progression,” Purdy said after carving up the Rams for 205 yards passing and another 29 yards rushing. “So I was just trying to take that. And then obviously when it wasn’t there, I think that was the time of the game where I started using my legs a little bit and the guys did a great job on the scramble drill. …. 

“Kyle was doing a great job with dialing up the right play calls.”

The lore of Shanahan exploiting schematic weaknesses from Rams head coach Sean McVay far more often than the rest of the NFL will continue. McVay gave credit where credit was due.

“They outplayed us in every facet,” he said postgame. “I didn’t do nearly a good enough job. This is a humbling day for us. This will define us only if we allow it to. …

“The first thing I’m gonna look at is myself.”

Sean McVay after loss to 49ers: ‘Sports can humble you’

Perhaps the 49ers’ offense entered this season with some respect. 

Shanahan will always cause problems for opponents, and the 49ers have ranked top 10 in offensive yardage each of the last five seasons.

Their core could be knocked for its age — add 32-year-old tight end George Kittle and 38-year-old left tackle Trent Williams to the Pro Bowlers north of 30 on their roster — and questioned for its health track record, which is not unrelated to its age.

But few wondered whether a core with those players, Purdy and Christian McCaffrey could compete if healthy.

Their defense, meanwhile, struggled last year. And it was easy to wonder whether that fall from the eighth-ranked unit in 2024 to the 20th-ranked in 2025 might be a sign of age rather than just a really bad injury streak for players like linebacker Fred Warner and edge rusher Nick Bosa.

Then Warner, Bosa and a group of teammates, including Renardo Green with an interception on Friday, faced the Rams.

The 49ers denied Matthew Stafford a touchdown after he scored one in every single game last season.

The 49ers held the Rams to 7 points, the worst output of Stafford’s 85 games as a Ram, regular season and playoffs included.

The second-fewest points Los Angeles had scored in the Stafford era: 9, in 2022. The opponent in that 24-9 loss: the 49ers.

“Sometimes sports can humble you and today was one of those days,” McVay said. “I make no excuses. Whether you want to say it’s about travel, whatever, we just weren’t good enough in that window. … 

“They deserve the win.”

Against reigning MVP Matthew Stafford, Brock Purdy flashed

The Rams could absolutely rebound as edge rusher Myles Garrett regains health from an apparent knee injury that limited him to zero sacks, tackles or quarterback hits; defensive tackle Aaron Donald, back from retirement but missing Week 1, should offer reinforcements, too.

But whether or not the Rams settle in, the question will linger: How good can this 49ers team be?

There’s reason to believe that the Niners’ Australia performance was not a fluke.

Since his 2022 arrival, Purdy has quietly (or not quietly, given the debates that swirl) posted a better passer rating than every active NFL starter but the Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson. His efficiency and confidence executing Shanahan’s anticipatory throwing system continues to grow.

His season-opening performance reflected his range.

Purdy aired out a perfectly timed 39-yard touchdown pass to Demarcus Robinson in the second quarter and nailed the placement on a back-shoulder fade to Mike Evans for a touchdown in the third. When the 49ers’ defense stopped the Rams on fourth-and-goal, giving their offense the ball but also a 99-yard field before them, Purdy didn’t flinch. He hit a 14-yard pass to get the Niners out of backed-up trouble, later scrambling for 18 yards to pick up a first down and a heaping of momentum.

Facing second-and-8 from the Rams’ 15-yard line with 13:04 to play in the fourth quarter, Purdy stayed patient before fleeing the pocket to his right and hit Deebo Samuel behind two Rams defenders for his third score.

“I thought Brock played so well,” Shanahan said. “He had one play I know he wants to take back, the interception of [Quentin] Lake, but he made some big-time plays and big-time throws. The 99-yard drive, there were so many plays there that he had to take off schedule where there wasn't an answer and he moved the chains with his legs…. 

“Brock was unbelievable today.”

The Rams, meanwhile, pulled Stafford and starters ahead of their final drive as the double-digit gap loomed insurmountably.

“I think when the ball was kicked off, we were ready to go play,” Stafford said. “We just didn’t do it at a high enough clip today.”

Twenty-eight more teams will play before the week ends, the storylines of the 2026 NFL season only beginning to shape.

But the 49ers reminded the NFL this week that their talent and coaching cast threaten their fellow division mates and Super Bowl darlings: the Rams and the Seahawks.

The team that’s advanced to four conference championships and two Super Bowls under Shanahan may need health, but the 49ers otherwise could have the pieces to threaten their deepest run yet.

“Division games, for me, they always count as two,” linebacker Fred Warner told SportsCenter’s Scott Van Pelt postgame. “Regardless of what the headlines say for how people feel about their team or any of the divisional opponents, those division games mean a lot for when we get down to the end. Winning the division, that's always our No. 1 goal: getting to the playoffs, winning our division. So I'm just so happy then that we're 1-0. It was a long week, but it was great. … 

“We did exactly what we wanted to do.” 

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