Today, we lost a true angel in mortal form. Gd called Dolly Parton home to be with him and her husband, Carl Dean, whom I am sure she wanted to be reunited with ever since his passing in March 2025.
Miss Dolly came from humble beginnings, growing up in a tiny home with her parents and 11 siblings. And maybe it was that upbringing that made her the kind and giving person she grew up to be.
She gave the world music to sing along with, movies to enjoy, talk show appearances to laugh with her, and a kindness to aspire to.
Her legacy will live on in so many different ways. I hope we remember all the incredible things she did behind the scenes, like giving children free books, helping to fund the Moderna COVID vaccine, sending Dollywood employees to college for free, and so much more.
I am sure we are going to learn in the upcoming months that she did so much more than we ever imagined she did. Miss Dolly might have had a flashy persona, but she was very quiet about her generosity.
Writing this is not easy. Because, like so many, I grew up loving Miss Dolly. As a New Yorker, Country music was not my thing. But she stood out. Right now, I am having happy flashbacks of my memories of her, and they go back to when I was just single digits old. Even as a child, I tried to imitate her style, confidence, and sexiness.
She owned who she was, and that is just one of the many reasons why we loved her.
Thank you to her parents for raising her to be the woman she became. Thank you to the town hussy who inspired her look. Thank you to her husband for loving her. Thank you to the record companies that took a chance on her. Thank you to the plastic surgeons and wig makers who kept her looking so good.
Thank you for the music. Thank you for humor. Thank you for movies. Thank you for your kindness. Thank you for your one liners, like explaining that my feet are so small because things don’t grow in the shade. Thank you for kindness. Thank you for being you. Because of that, I will always remember you with a smile, not with tears.
So, as she was lifted up to heaven, I could hear singing, “Here I go,” from Here You Come Again. However, I will be singing I Will Always Love You and playing the melody with my nails.
