Dolly Parton

Singer-songwriter. Actress. Businesswoman. She was known for her cultural and philanthropy. We knew her as the ‘Queen of Country’.

She was Dolly Parton.

Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean (nee Parton) was in the music industry for seventy years, starting her professional radio and recording performances in the mid-1950s. Her first recorded single was “Puppy Love” in 1957. Her last official recording, her true final song, was recorded in 2015 but won’t be released until 2046, which would have been Dolly’s 100th birthday.

Over her lifetime, Dolly had written more than 3,000 songs, with 1,100 individual recordings. We know the old favorites: Jolene, 9 to 5, I Will Always Love You. My personal favorite is Islands in the Stream, when Dolly sang this with Kenny Rogers. Which is your favorite?

Dolly Parton was one of those singers who was always there, with a smile on her face and looking absolutely beautiful.

We were shocked to hear of her recent death. We knew that Dolly had been ill but didn’t realize how seriously ill. Even during her last video ‘chats’, Dolly always had that beautiful smile. If she was so ill then the sleep of death is a kindness.

But we are really going to miss her!

Dolly was born into poverty in rural Tennessee. The 4th of 12 children, her mother had 11 pregnancies, the 10th being twins, in 20 years, making her mother a mother of 12 by the age of 35 — strong lady! The family lived in a one-room cabin on the banks of the Little Pigeon River. These first days of growing up influenced Dolly’s ‘principles’ and ‘ways’.

The family did move into a two-room cabin and farm on nearby Locust Ridge, where most of her cherished childhood memories happened.

Dolly said that her family were “dirt poor”. Her father paid the missionary who had delivered Dolly with a sack of cornmeal. The family were always well-fed though. In 1964, one day after graduating from Sevier County High School, Dolly moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and her ‘story’ began.

Something I just did not know was what else Dolly Parton did. Most of us know about her music career, which beats (I would say) most of the stars still alive today. But what other things did Dolly “do”?

There is so much that this wonderful person did, how can I choose what to write? I have picked out just 2 of the many amazing things Dolly did and please do look up and read for yourself — you’ll be as amazed as I am!

The FBI honored Dolly Parton with the 2018 Director’s Community Leadership Award in a ceremony at FBI Headquarters in 2018. Here is why — in response to the 2016 Great Smoky Mountains Wildfires, Dolly joined the many other artists with the telethon to raise money for the victims of these fires. Hosting her own telethon for these very same victims, on December 13th, $9 million was raised. Dolly’s own fund called “My People’s Fund” provided $1,000 a month for 6 months to over 900 families affected by these wildfires. This culminated with $5,000 to each home in the final month due to the increased funding. This totaled to $10,000 per family.

This is kindness!

This beautiful lady was a lifelong advocate for education. Although her father was illiterate, Dolly often said that he was one of the smartest people she had ever known when it came to business and making a profit. Dolly never forgot these humble beginnings, And this is why she set up the non-profit “Dollywood Foundation”. Her “Imagination Library” is a part of this education foundation, and is in honor of her father who never learned to read or write.

“It mails one book per month to each enrolled child from the time of their birth until they enter kindergarten. Over 1,600 local communities provide the “Imagination Library” to almost 850,000 children each month across the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia and Ireland.”

If this isn’t caring for the future generation — sorry, I should say — this is how we should care for the next generation!

In so many ways, Dolly ‘taught’ us how to love, care and show kindness. It was ‘how’ she lived her life.

(I could never do justice in writing about Dolly Parton’s life. I just wanted to say “Thankyou” to Dolly for showing me that we can be happy, no matter our lives, and that each one of us is beautiful.)

Dolly Parton was a beautiful beacon of light in the darkness of humanity.