BY LOYD FORD
THE LAKE NEWS

Dolly Parton, the Queen of Country, and surely the Queen of all America’s hearts, died Tuesday.

She was 80 years of age.

Her nephew, Brian Seaver, made the brief announcement of her death. There were no details about her death released, although it was well known she had faced health issues for nearly a year.

Dolly Parton was larger than life in many ways: one of the most successful composers, a singer who won 11 Grammy Awards, an actress, a philanthropist and someone who inspired millions with her good works and contagious, glowing personality.

Dolly channeled her wealth to help people everywhere, especially children. She grew up in a large, poor family in the mountains of East Tennessee and never forgot where she came from. She used her success to help not just her people but all people. Her loss is beyond measure.

Several years ago, I attended a joint convention of the Tennessee Press Association and the Kentucky Press Association in Gatlinburg. We were invited to Dollywood to meet with Dolly Parton for what we thought would be a show. But that wasn’t Dolly’s plan; she put on a wonderful show, and she also took time to tell us about her program that brings free books to young children. More importantly, she took time to talk with the children who were there with the groups and especially encouraged the little girls in the audience.

We got to experience the real Dolly. We learned that while she was a music icon who will never be duplicated, she was also a real human being who wanted to use her success to help other people achieve wonderful lives.

She was committed to children and opened her heart to people everywhere.

In the 30 years since Dolly founded Imagination Library, it has mailed more than 300 million free books to children across the U.S.

Dollywood also has a non-profit foundation to help people in the East Tennessee region.

Dolly was an inspiration to people wherever she went.

Loyd Ford is the editor and publisher of The Lake News in Calvert City.