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The World Lost a Great, Talented, Persevering and Loving Lady in Dolly Parton!

And I do mean the world. We have already heard from people in Europe who tell us that people are openly

grieving the loss of a woman most of them never met.

That tells us something important about Dolly.

She didn't simply become famous. She became connected to people. Across countries, cultures, generations, politics

and backgrounds. Somehow Dolly made people feel that they knew her — and perhaps more importantly, that she knew

them.

There will be wonderful stories told about the songs, that unmistakable voice, the movies, the outrageous clothes, the

laughter — and Dolly's marvelous ability to make fun of herself before anybody else got the chance.

And there will be stories about what she did for others — the children who received books, the families she helped, the

communities she supported and the countless people whose lives she touched.

Dolly Parton is perhaps the shining example of a term we call “Creating Community” — inclusive conversations,

bringing people together, and always speaking to others with respect. And in Dolly's case, also with love and

humor.

She came out of the mountains of East Tennessee, one of twelve children in a family that had very little money. And when

enormous success finally came her way, she didn't simply leave those mountains behind.

She reached back.

She created jobs. She supported education. She helped families devastated by disaster. And because her own father

could not read or write, she created the Imagination Library so other children would grow up surrounded by books.

What began in one Tennessee county became something extraordinary — a program that put hundreds of millions of books into the hands of children around the world.

One woman had an idea.
She cared enough to begin.
Other people joined her.
Communities became involved.
And an idea born in the Tennessee mountains traveled around the world.
Perhaps that is one of the most important things Dolly Parton leaves us.
You don't have to solve everything.
You don't have to begin with an enormous organization.
And you certainly don't have to wait until everyone agrees with you.
Sometimes you simply see something that needs doing, gather some good people around you — and begin.
Dolly was indeed the walking demonstration of Creating Community.