Like every Tennessean, and so many people around the world, tonight I am mourning the passing of Dolly Parton through the thin veil.
I’ve lived in Nashville for nearly 33 years, and I can honestly say I don’t know anyone who doesn’t have a Dolly story, a personal connection or a memory. What is remarkable is that every story I have ever heard has been consistently positive, uplifting and loving.
My daughter said today that Dolly was one of the best examples of what it means to be a Christian. I had to agree.
For all of her extraordinary talent and success, Dolly Parton’s greatest influence may have been the example she gave us as a servant leader and a woman of faith. She was fiercely independent, extraordinarily hardworking and deeply committed to her family, her marriage and the place that made her who she was.
She rose from poverty in East Tennessee to become one of the most recognizable women in the world, yet she never seemed interested in distancing herself from where she came from. She honored her parents and siblings, invested in her hometown and used her success to create opportunities for the people around her. She was never embarrassed by humble beginnings. She celebrated them.
I have always deeply respected that.
Dolly was unable to have children of her own, but in many ways, she became a mother to millions. She was Miley Cyrus’ godmother. Her Imagination Library has placed millions of books into the hands of children. Dollywood created countless memories for families, including my own, while becoming an enormous economic engine for East Tennessee. Her philanthropy supported families after devastating wildfires, medical research, education and countless causes, many of them without fanfare.
She mothered differently, but powerfully. The ripples of that generosity will continue for generations.
As a businesswoman and entrepreneur who has spent much of my own life balancing marriage, children and a demanding career, I have always found Dolly inspiring. She demonstrated that ambition and generosity do not have to compete. You can build something extraordinary and still remember why you were blessed with the opportunity to build it. That lesson has particular meaning to me.
I built my company around the idea of servant leadership I first witnessed in the Catholic sisters who built Ascension. Dolly embodied much of that same philosophy. As successful as she became, she continued pouring her time, talent and treasure into work that changed other people’s lives.
Not simply for recognition. Not for her name on another building. But because she seemed to understand that being blessed creates an opportunity—and perhaps an obligation—to bless others.
That is something I try to instill in my own children and in our team at Punching Nun Group.
Success can be wonderful. Achievement can be gratifying. Fame can create an extraordinary platform. But if it all ends with us, we have missed something important.
The deeper satisfaction comes from using whatever gifts we have been given to improve another person’s life, strengthen a community, answer a calling or leave something behind that continues doing good long after we are gone.
Dolly understood that.
Her love for Tennessee made millions of people love this state, too. My hope is that as Nashville and Tennessee continue to grow and welcome people from across the country, we hold tightly to the things Dolly seemed to treasure most about this place: community, generosity, humility, faith and genuine concern for our neighbors.
One of the songs that has always reminded me of that part of Dolly is “There Was Jesus,” which she recorded with Zach Williams. The song is a reminder that through success and failure, joy and suffering, certainty and fear, we are never walking alone.
That feels especially meaningful tonight.
Dolly Parton gave the world extraordinary music, but she also gave us an extraordinary example of how to live: work hard, love where you came from, use your gifts fully, remain grateful and take as many people with you as you possibly can.
She was immensely successful on this earth while keeping her eyes toward heaven.
May we honor her by doing the same.
Rest well, Dolly. And thank you for showing us what it looks like to be blessed—and then spend a lifetime being a blessing.