Dickie remembers Dolly Parton’s ‘greatest legacy’ after her passing, aged 80
Today Entertainment Editor Richard ‘Dickie’ Wilkins is remembering the beautiful legacy of country music icon Dolly Parton after her passing, aged 80.
Wilkins revealed he was doing an interview with a group of international journalists at 4am when the news of Parton’s death broke.
Dolly Parton passed away aged 80 after a brief battle with cancer. Today
“Everybody was just shocked and people were like ‘I’ve got to go’,” he said of the group’s response to the news.
“There’s been such a huge outpouring of grief. She was so loved. She was such a great artist. She was a singer. She was a prolific songwriter and actress. She was a philanthropist. She just ticked a lot of boxes. She was like the mother to the country music world.”
Wilkins remembered what he said was one of Parton’s “greatest legacies” – Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
Imagination Library is a free book gifting program that mails free books to children from birth and throughout their schooling.
“[Parton’s] father couldn’t read and in his honour, she created Imagination Library,” he said.
“She said ’whether you become a minister or an inventor or whatever, you need to learn to read.”
Parton died aged 80 “after bravely facing a brief battle with cancer”, her family announced.
The type of cancer she had has not been disclosed.
Parton’s loved ones raced to be by her side at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Centre in her final moments.
We’d love to hear from you
