→

Dolly Parton Goddess and Saint

Posted: August 30, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: just because |Leave a comment

When I heard Dolly Parton had died…I was in my kitchen putting dishes away from the dishwasher. It had been run the evening before, but the dishes were still warm. I had just remarked on this when the news announced that our true original American Saint of all Goodly Humanity had passed.

It hit like a tsunami.

I knew she was sick, for a long time now. In fact, very early in the morning I had read a post on her Facebook that said:

I even went back to look for it, but it was gone. I am glad that The Irish Star published this story. Otherwise…I would have questioned my sanity.

It may seem strange but I’m going to use those dishes in that dishwasher as an analogy. I’m not religious, so if you want…you can switch what I’m about to say into a baptism story. But, Dolly Parton had a way with her words and music. It was a kind of way that washed you clean. It scrubbed all your dirt and grime. But held you accountable. It made you want to be better. It made you all warm and kept you like that for a long time because it insulated you from the hate and cruelty in the world.

She was everything you could ever hope to be…

If you truly wanted to be a good person.

For me, the quintessential Dolly has to be the Dolly of the 9 to 5 era…I guess that is because I was a kid during that time and she was so popular.

Her music was always on the radio, even on the rock/pop stations. Not a day would go by that I didn’t hear her singing. She was on talk shows and late night. She was everywhere. And no matter what she was doing, you never got tired of seeing her. It was always so charming and genuine.

She spread love to everyone. Absolutely everyone.

These are just some of the charitable things she has done:

Her production company also produced a documentary on the AIDS Quilt, Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt, you may remember this film:

That is a link to the full film.

Also, I want to share this video of an interview with the cast of Steel Magnolias. I saw this interview live way back in the day, and this particular part never lost my memory:

Remember what I said before about accountability? Dolly did not have any biological children, but she sure mothered us in many ways.

*Just a side note: there are so many images in this post, I had to use columns…and remember to reload the page if the Instagram post are not embedded properly.

Dolly Parton was laid to rest on Friday, a small funeral with her immediate family.

Here are some of the tributes that people, both celebrities and fans have made for Dolly these last few days:

Wow, she is being inducted into the R and B Hall of Fame!

Plenty of tattoo artists are doing special tattoos:

From her sister Stella Parton:

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1B7t6hE68H/?mibextid=wwXIfr

My big sister Dolly got her wings this past Tuesday.
If anyone gets to heaven I’m sure she made it right on time.
I know she’s showing out big time, in all her sparkles and shine.
That was my sister’s way.
Every Tuesday about this time, before the sun came up and the world was still asleep, she and I for many years had our coffee together over the phone.
Being little farm girls we’ve continued to be early risers.
As she liked to say; “shoot Tedda we get more work done before the sun comes up than most folks do all day long!”
We would catch up on gossip, as sisters do, and drink coffee and make plans as it has always been our way.
My sister was one of the most generous, thoughtful and kind people I’ve ever known.
What the world saw is exactly who she was, so much so, she told me recently that if there was no hope for her, she would still allow her medical team to try experimental drugs in the hope of helping others in the future.
My sister was always thinking of others and if you want to honor her legacy, show more kindness, lift others up and give more of your time and resources as she continued to do to the very end.
I want to personally thank all of you for the out pouring of love and respect you are showing my sister.
Your love and respect for her is deeply felt by all of us who loved her first and it helps as we grieve her passing through our lives!
My Tuesday morning coffee time will never be the same but her love, respect and goodness will remain.
Dolly loved the world and everyone in it.
I would criticize and complain about it and she would laugh and say; “shoot Tedda, we’ve got more important things to do than worry about their silly asses.”
She was right and she proved it everyday.
She left the world a better place by being in it so let’s follow her example. Love and respect to all of you. Stella

Some cartoons in memory:

Various images and memes:

Rest in peace Dolly, you were the best there ever was.

What do you think? Join the conversation. Leave a Reply:

→