08/26/2026
I never met her in person but I know that doesn’t matter. I felt I knew her spirit because she allowed herself to be known. Who she showed up as, as a performer and an artist, was exactly the same person she moved through life as. This loss hits hard because she was genuine- genuinely compassionate, kind, generous, loving, smart, witty, funny, and really tenacious…and a definite role model for my own life. She is someone who believes in and backs community, not just with words but in purposeful action. She extended community beyond her own backyard and reached into the hearts of people of all different races, creeds and sexual preferences. What Jesus Christ teaches in the Bible- here is a woman that actually lived that word. Luckily for us, her light is inextinguishable. Her human body has passed but that indomitable spirit has been shared so broadly and deeply and has touched so many people around the country that her spirit is alive and well.
Some questions I feel she left to all of us: Will we continue her legacy by supporting literacy programs in schools? Will we encourage our youth to support and accept each other instead of bullying- to finish what they started- to graduate school? Will we refrain from judgement against other people that don’t look, act, or love like we do? Will we stop agreeing to be gathered into little pockets of division and stop allowing politicians to divide us? Are we capable of seeing the humanity, and only the humanity, in other people? I thank God for you Dolly Parton and the way in which you influenced my own heart- to get on with the business of being myself and to not be ashamed of my own light, and to always find the joy.
I will always love you, and I promise I will always try my best to act in a way that honors your legacy. Godspeed Angel. ❤️Dolly Parton
