Stella Parton Reveals How To Honor Dolly Parton’s Legacy In Touching Tribute
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As tributes for the late country icon Dolly Parton continue to pour in, it is perhaps the words from those who knew her best — her family — that speak to the person she truly was.
On Thursday, Aug. 27, two days after Dolly’s death at the age of 80 on Aug. 25, one of her 11 siblings, Stella Parton, released a statement about her big sister, Dolly.
“If anyone get to heaven I’m sure she made it right on time,” Stella wrote, starting her letter by saying that Dolly “got her wings.”
Continuing, she wrote, “I know she’s showing out big time, in all her sparkles and shine. That was my sister’s way.”
While no one will ever match Dolly’s way of “showing out big time,” Stella encouraged for other attributes that defined Dolly — namely, kindness — to be spread in her honor.
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Read Stella Parton’s Statement On Her Big Sister, Dolly
“My sister was one of the most generous, thoughtful and kind people I’ve ever known,” Stella wrote of Dolly, who was as well known for her music as for her heart for giving with initiatives like the Imagination Library.
Stella, who is 77, then wrote, “What the world saw is exactly who she was.”
As evidence of her sister’s priorities, Stella then offered that Dolly had expressed in the past her desire for her death to potentially mean as much as her life, with Stella recalling, “She told me recently that if there was no hope for her, she would still allow her medical team to try experimental drugs in the hope of helping others in the future.”
Powerfully, Stella then wrote:
“My sister was always thinking of others, and if you want to honor her legacy, show more kindness, lift up others, and give more of your time and resources, as she continued to do to the very end.”
Looking to Dolly’s place as a part of the Parton family, Stella then offered her thanks “for the outpouring of love and respect” shown to her sister, saying it “is deeply felt by all of us who loved her first.”
Within her statement on the passing of Dolly, Stella even shared part of her weekly ritual with her big sister.
Every Tuesday, “before the sun came up and the world was still asleep,” she and Dolly would enjoy their morning coffee together over the phone.
With Dolly’s passing in mind, Stella added, “My Tuesday morning coffee time will never be the same, but her love, respect and goodness will remain.”
Near the end of her statement, Stella said, “Dolly loved the world and everyone in it. I would criticize and complain about it and she would laugh and say; ‘shoot Tedda, we’ve got more important things to do than worry about their silly asses.’ She was right, and she proved it every day.”
Concluding her statement, Stella wrote, “She left the world a better place by being in it, so let’s follow her example.”
See Stella Parton’s full statement on the loss of her sister, Dolly, here:
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