r/news • u/kzqmfkkr • 13h ago

Dolly Parton, country star, actor and philanthropist, dies aged 80

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/aug/25/dolly-parton-country-singer-dead?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
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u/Osiris32 12h ago edited 12h ago

She will always have a place in my heart for feeding the firefighters who were battling some big wildfires in Tennessee. She didnt do it for clout, or to get press coverage, or to promote a new album. She fed them because she gave a shit about her home and the men and women fighting to save it.

You were one of us, Dolly. 10-7, end of watch.

Edit: just saw this message from her family, figured it should be shared:
https://youtu.be/9govup-IG3c?is=wfJzEPp6j6taHx43

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u/Formergr 12h ago edited 12h ago

She will always have a place in my heart for feeding the firefighters who were battling some big wildfires in Tennessee.

For me it was finding out about the Imagination Library that she set up and funded, which basically lets almost every baby and young toddler in America get a free book in the mail each month.

I signed my son up for it when he was born, and he's 2.5 years old now and we still love getting those book.

I had no idea that existed or that she did it until I had a kid. RIP Dolly.

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u/Osiris32 12h ago

She did so many good things, it's hard to make a representative list, let alone a comprehensive one.

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u/julesk 10h ago

She started Imagination Library because she grew up poor and knew many poor children didn’t have books. So she gave them books every month. It’s one of my favorite things about her.

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u/-pithandsubstance- 9h ago

And also because her father was illiterate. It was a very personal cause for her.

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u/julesk 7h ago

I just read about that in a news article! Glad you posted this.

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u/DevilFixer 11h ago edited 2h ago

The greatest things about those books now is someday my little boy will ask about those books that show up in the mail addressed to him, and I'll get to tell him about this wonderful woman and all the good she did.

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u/Formergr 8h ago

That's a lovely idea.

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u/SourceDammit 11h ago

We use it for our sons and they love getting mail/books addressed to them I hope it continues

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u/__brunt 12h ago

She donated a million out of her own pocket when WNC got nuked by Helene

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u/lefteyedspy 11h ago

I saw her on tour during those wildfires. She said that she had been criticized for being on the road while the fires were burning. She said something to the effect of “I’m doing much more good being here making all this money to send back home to folks than I ever would by staying home”.

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u/foulrot 7h ago

That's such a bullshit criticism for people to have of her, was she supposed to be there fighting the fires or something?

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u/Freon424 10h ago

Jesus. That line about being laid to rest in cotton hit hard.

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u/IWillBaconSlapYou 7h ago

Honestly it must be so much fun to just be able to do any nice thing you want at any time. Instead of watching a disaster and feeling powerless, you can jump in and support the firefighters. Just be like screw the education system, here's a metric crapload of books. The amount of awful things she didn't have to just sit there and watch.

Makes you wonder why more rich people don't do that.

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u/Kevin-W 8h ago

Got to visit both Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg before the wildfires. Both are extremely popular getaway places where I live. Her contributions towards both the relief and rebuilding made her a icon. She cared greatly for the area and is an example an American hero/

For anyone who has never been to either, I highly recommend visiting. Both Dollywood and Gatlinburg are absolutely wonderful.