Beachgirl

[Craig Ceecee, Ph.D. @CC_StormWatch]

One thing I think Tennessee could do in Dolly's honor as well: rename I-40 across the state as the Dolly Parton Memorial Highway.

[Josh Raby @JoshRaby]

Genuinely do think Dolly deserves a national holiday. You celebrate by buying kids books and being nice to each other. Coincides with the beginning of the school year. I’m emotional over her passing, but I’ll mean it a year from now just the same.

[Matt Van Swol @mattvanswol]

In 1988 Dolly Parton pulled every 7th and 8th grader in Sevier County into a room and told them to pick a buddy.

She made them sign a contract.. if BOTH graduate, she hands you both $500. One fails, nobody gets paid.

The county dropout rate went from 35% to 6%.

She handed out the checks herself.

In 1989 she offered $500 to every kid in the county who wanted to go to the local college.

When Gatlinburg burned in 2016, she sent 900 families $1,000 a month for six months.

You've probably heard that part.

Here's the part you haven't:

The fund raised more than expected, so she showed up in May and handed every one of those families another $5,000 on top.

Then she quietly put $3 million into the recovery group that handles the years after the news trucks leave.

She built her county an entire hospital.

She played a benefit concert in 2007, Dollywood and the Stampede matched it, and LeConte Medical Center opened in 2010 with a birthing unit and a women's center in it.

In 2022 she started covering 100% of tuition, books, and fees for Dollywood employees.

Full-time, part-time, AND seasonal.

In 1991 she paid for a bald eagle sanctuary because the birds couldn't be released back into the wild, no press release.

And when Hurricane Helene came through here in Western North Carolina, she wrote a personal check for $1 million and her companies matched it.

She didn't owe North Carolina anything, but she helped us anyway.

She started the Imagination Library because her daddy couldn't read or write. Before he passed, he told her it was the most important thing she ever did.

Rest in Peace, Dolly 🇺🇸

[just josh Pray 😥 @_joshpray]

Dolly Parton somehow stayed 25 for 55 years, built an empire in rhinestones, loved God without weaponizing it, welcomed everybody, gave back endlessly and made being kind look powerful. ❤️

Ultra feminine. Business savvy. Inclusive. Faithful. Funny. Generous. Completely Dolly.

There will NEVER be another one. Rest beautifully, Dolly. 🕊️💎

[Empire State Building Observation Deck @EmpireStateBldg]

Tonight, the Empire State Building tower lights will turn to a pink sparkle at 9:25 to honor the late Dolly Parton.

Dolly was a global cultural icon whose seven-decade career reached generations of fans. Beyond entertainment, Dolly leaves a significant philanthropic legacy through the Dollywood Foundation and Imagination Library, which has provided hundreds of millions of books to children worldwide.

At Nine-Two-Five tonight, we celebrate her and her legacy 💖

[Janice Hough @leftcoastbabe]

One of of my favorite Dolly Parton lines.

"I'm not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I’m not dumb... and I also know that I’m not blonde."

[Jim LaPorta @JimLaPorta]

Astronomy teaches us that when a star dies, its light doesn’t disappear. It keeps traveling through the universe long after the star itself is gone.

Dolly Parton feels like that kind of star.

[Rick @colonelhogans]

The doctor who delivered Dolly Parton in a one-room Tennessee cabin in 1946 was paid with a sack of cornmeal. Her father farmed other people's land and could not read or write. Eighty years later, the reading program she built in his name has mailed more than 300 million books.

She wrote "I Will Always Love You" on the same afternoon she wrote "Jolene," as a goodbye to Porter Wagoner, and released it in 1974. Elvis wanted it. The night before the session, Colonel Tom Parker called and said Presley would only record it if they got half the publishing, meaning half of everything the song ever earned. She had been in Nashville ten years by then. She said no, and cried all night. Whitney Houston cut her version in 1992, held number one for fourteen weeks, and Forbes later put Parton's royalties from it near $10 million. She put some of that money into an office complex in Nashville and called the place the house that Whitney built.

Dollywood opened in Pigeon Forge in 1986 because she wanted wages in the county she came from. Around 4,000 people work there now. Three million visitors come every year. The University of Tennessee put its economic impact at $1.8 billion, and it is the largest employer in Sevier County. Since 2022 the company has paid tuition, fees, and books in full for every worker from their first day, seasonal hires included.

Wildfires tore through those mountains in November 2016, killing fourteen people and destroying more than 2,400 buildings. Her foundation was handing out money within 48 hours. Every family that lost a home got $1,000 a month for six months, regardless of income. The final check was $5,000. Total delivered: $8.9 million.

In April 2020 she sent $1 million to Vanderbilt for coronavirus research. When Moderna's vaccine results ran in the New England Journal of Medicine that November, her fund appeared in the footnotes.

Carl Dean, her husband of nearly sixty years, died in March 2025. The note she wrote to fans afterward ended with the same five words she wrote for Porter Wagoner back in 1974. She died in Nashville today. Her family asked that instead of flowers, people give to the Imagination Library, which still mails 3.4 million books a month to children who will never get to meet her.

[MOTHERS. @francemothers]

Fun fact: Dolly Parton used the royalties from Whitney Houston’s rendition of “I Will Always Love You” to support a Black neighborhood, and support Black owned businesses.

"I bought my big office complex down in Nashville. So I thought, 'Well, this is a wonderful place to be,'" Parton said. "I bought a property down in what was the Black area of town, and it was mostly just Black families and people that lived around there. It was off the beaten path from 16th Avenue and I thought, 'Well, I am gonna buy this place — the whole strip mall.' And I thought, 'This is the perfect place for me to be,' considering it was Whitney. I thought this was great — I'm just gonna be down here with her people, who are my people as well," she continued. "So I just love the fact that I spent that money on a complex and I think, 'This is the house that Whitney built.' "

[Hannah Sampson @hannahbsampson]

This note in the final book from Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library wrecked me last year when my daughter turned 5. Tearing up again reading it now.

[Dolly Parton @DollyParton]

Global icon and humanitarian, Dolly Parton, known to the world as a beloved singer, songwriter, philanthropist, actress, playwright, and author died peacefully today in Nashville, Tennessee. She was 80 years old.

Dolly is preceded in death by her beloved husband of 59 years Carl Thomas Dean (1942 – 2025), her mother Avie Lee Caroline Owens (1923 – 2003), and father, Robert Lee Parton, Sr. (1921 – 2000).

A rhinestone life that shone bright enough for the world to see, Dolly will forever stand as an inspiration not only through her timeless music and prolific songwriting, but also her wit, warmth, and kindness that made us all feel like family. Dolly Parton’s legacy is one of love, compassion, and resilience. With a seven-decade career, she inspired multiple generations of artists and fans with her music and an unwavering commitment to making the world a better place. Her songs will continue to resonate with people of all ages, and her philanthropic work will have a lasting impact.

At Dolly’s request, a small, private service will be held for immediate family. Dolly’s fans and friends from around the world are encouraged to pay tribute to Dolly on social media by tagging @DollyParton or by leaving a message at https://t.co/cLu9I7M2wC

In lieu of flowers the family asks for donations to be made to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library at https://t.co/arzrqInqJA

[Boze Herrington, Library Owl 😴🧙‍♀️ @SketchesbyBoze]

Dolly Parton rose from poverty to stardom. She gave $500 to every student in her hometown who finished high school, she built hospitals and bald eagle preserves; her Imagination Library has gifted 300 million books to children. Roger Ebert once met her and came away thinking she was a literal angel. RIP.

[Beachgirl @_Beach_Girl_1]

@BarackObama I miss you so much as President 😢

[Beachgirl @_Beach_Girl_1]

@Kentuckyweather It won’t open 😏

[Scottie Pippen @ScottiePippen]

You’re ONE consistent year away from creating a totally different life. Keep going.

[Beachgirl @_Beach_Girl_1]

@michaelburgett Disagree

[Beachgirl @_Beach_Girl_1]

@AaronNolanNews @Allstate I think it’s funny and I usually hate all commercials

[Beachgirl @_Beach_Girl_1]

@A_M_D_x3 @IamJerm24 Oh, thanks!

[Yoko Ono @yokoono]

WORLD PEACE
We decided that the thing we had in common was Love. And from Love came Peace. So we decided to work for World Peace. #powertothepeople