Credit: Senior Master Sgt. Kendra M. Owenby/U.S. Air National Guard
American and Pennsylvania flags will be lowered to half-staff for one week in Dolly Parton’s honor.
President Donald Trump and Gov. Josh Shapiro issued the flag orders Tuesday after Parton’s death was announced.
Advertisements
The flags will remain lowered until sunset on Tuesday, Sept. 1.
Credit: LevittownNow.com
“This is a true loss for millions of people,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “There has never been anyone like her, and never will.”
Trump described Parton as “one of the greatest Country singers, and far beyond, EVER,” before concluding: “Rest in Peace, Dolly! The World loves you.”
Trump’s remarks were reported by the New York Post.
Advertisements
Born Jan. 19, 1946, in a one-room cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, Parton was one of 12 children in a family she often described as poor but rich in faith and music. She moved to Nashville after graduating from high school and began building a career as a songwriter before finding national fame through her appearances with Porter Wagoner.
Parton eventually became a defining voice of country music, writing more than 3,000 songs and selling more than 100 million records. Her best-known songs included “Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors,” “9 to 5,” “Here You Come Again,” “Islands in the Stream” and “I Will Always Love You.”
Advertisements
The latter song became a hit for Parton twice before Whitney Houston transformed it into a worldwide pop phenomenon in 1992. Parton retained the song’s publishing rights and frequently described songwriting as the foundation of her career.
“The songs are my legacy,” Parton once said, according to Reuters’ obituary.
Parton received 11 Grammy Awards and was inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Her career extended well beyond recorded music, including memorable roles in “9 to 5,” “Steel Magnolias” and “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.”
Advertisements
She also built Dollywood into one of Tennessee’s largest tourist attractions while maintaining close ties to the Appalachian community where she was raised.
Parton’s charitable work became nearly as prominent as her entertainment career. Her Imagination Library program has provided free books to children from birth to age 5, expanding from an initiative in her home county to an international literacy program.
She also donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Center research that contributed to development of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. Her other charitable work supported education, pediatric health care and communities affected by natural disasters.
Credit: USACE
Tributes posted Tuesday reflected the unusually broad audience Parton cultivated across music, film, television and politics.
Country singer Kacey Musgraves wrote that “the world feels less bright,” while expressing comfort that Parton had been reunited with her husband, Carl Dean. Actress Jamie Lee Curtis remembered Parton for her courage and authenticity, including her decision to leave Wagoner’s television program and express her gratitude through “I Will Always Love You.”
Additional celebrity tributes were reported by The U.S. Sun.
Public officials also remembered Parton’s service beyond the stage. U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee said her death “leaves a void that no one can ever fill,” adding, “Dolly, we will always love you.”
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders said Parton was not only a talented musician but also “a lifelong philanthropist and advocate for literacy, education, LGBTQ+ rights, healthcare and disaster relief,” according to The Guardian’s continuing coverage.
Parton’s husband of nearly 60 years, Carl Dean, died in March 2025 at age 82. The couple married in 1966 and largely kept their relationship outside public view despite Parton’s worldwide fame.
Parton remained creatively active through the final year of her life. Shortly before her 80th birthday, she released a new version of “Light of a Clear Blue Morning” with Miley Cyrus, Reba McEntire, Lainey Wilson and Queen Latifah. Proceeds supported pediatric cancer research at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.
“I wrote ‘Light of a Clear Blue Morning’ during a season when I was searching for hope,” Parton said at the time, “and 50 years later that message still feels just as true.”
Parton’s family had not announced public funeral or memorial arrangements as of Tuesday afternoon.
This article appears courtesy of a content share agreement between LevittownNow.com, NewtownPANow.com, and NewHopeFreePress.com and Central Bucks News. To read more stories like this, visit https://www.centralbucksnews.com
