Utah Joins the World in Remembering Music Legend Dolly Parton

Honoring a Legend

Utah is joining the rest of the country in mourning Dolly Parton, the country music legend whose influence stretched far beyond Nashville.

A Remarkable Life Well-Lived

Parton died Tuesday in Nashville at age 80. Her family said she died peacefully, ending a remarkable career spanning nearly seven decades as a singer, songwriter, actress, businesswoman and philanthropist.

Statewide Tribute: Flags at Half-Staff

In Utah, Gov. Spencer Cox ordered U.S. and Utah flags at all state facilities to remain at half-staff through sunset Sept. 1 in Parton’s honor. Cox also invited Utah residents, businesses and organizations to lower their flags. The flags had already been lowered to honor pilots Chris Andersen and Miles Elliott, who were killed while fighting Utah’s Widemouth 2 Fire.

Some of Utah’s most famous entertainers also remembered Parton.

Donny Osmond posted a tribute on social media recalling when Parton appeared with him and Marie on their television show in 1999. He described Parton as having “a heart of gold” and remembered how she made everyone in the studio feel like her best friend. He ended his message with an appropriate play on one of her most famous songs: “We will always love you!”

Tributes and memories of Parton also spread across the Facebook pages and social-media communities surrounding Utah entertainment icons Marie and Merrill Osmond, reflecting the close connection between the Osmond family’s generation of performers and Parton’s long career. Donny’s remembrance was especially personal because he and Marie had worked with Parton on television.

A Lasting Impact Through Literacy

Parton also leaves a direct legacy in Utah through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. The program partnered with Utah nonprofit Operation Literacy to expand access to free books for young children in the state. Parton started the Imagination Library in Tennessee in 1995, inspired by her father’s inability to read and write. The program mails free, age-appropriate books each month to participating children from birth through age 5 and has grown into an international literacy effort.

Continue the Legacy: Donations Encouraged

In lieu of flowers, Parton’s family is asking people to donate to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, helping put more books into the hands of children — perhaps one of the most fitting ways possible to continue Dolly’s legacy.