So many things happened last week while I was away, but I was deeply moved by the loss of one of the world’s leading lights in music, philanthropy, business and literacy.
I could only be speaking of the legendary Dolly Parton, who passed away last Tuesday at the age of 80 and was laid to rest in a private ceremony on Friday in Nashville.
I was devastated when I heard she was gone last week, as she is one of the few internationally famous people still beloved by people from all walks of life and political backgrounds, and for good reason.
Her musical accomplishments were legendary with 10 Grammy wins (plus a lifetime achievement award), 10 wins at the CMA’s, and 42 career top 10 country albums, which is a record for any artist.
Her legacy of giving is unparalled, from $500 incentives to children in her home community for graduation contracts, one million dollar research donation that helped Moderna develop their COVID vaccine, support for people who lost their homes in wildfires to investing the money made from Whitney Houston’s cover of “I will always love you” into a underdevelopment predominantly black neighbourhood in Houston she called “the House that Whitney Bulit”.
She also made a huge difference for people in her home county as a visionary with Dollywood, a tourist juggernaut which employs thousands of people and a direct economic impact estimated at $1.8 billion dollars.
Her literacy program is also legendary, sending more than 330 million books to children under the age of five so that poverty was never a barrier to a lifelong love of reading.
A woman born in poverty did more than anyone else I could possibly imagine making sure others had what she never did growing up. That’s more than a legacy; that’s a legend that will live in our hearts forever.
I’m Paul Martin and that’s what I see looking Beyond the Headlines.
