This is a blog about Legacy Planning. When it comes to building a legacy, Dolly Parton’s life is a masterclass. She overcame obstacles and lived life as a role model for love, faith, resilience, and giving back. Through her remarkable artistry, wisdom, and generosity, Dolly’s legacy will live on as a gift to the world.
I have featured Dolly Parton in this blog before. See my post of September 10, 2024, entitled “Three Role Models for Aging with Dignity.”
A University of Massachusetts poll ranked Dolly Parton as the most popular person in America. Her fans are a cross-section of different political affiliations, ages, and education levels. In our polarized world, she was the one person that almost everyone could admire. She was a music icon, considered by many the most famous female country artist in history. But she was so much more.
Her death hits us hard, me in particular. I have asked myself why. I think it’s because we felt a connection with her. She knew how to reach us. She lifted us up. Ironically, with all her hair, makeup, glitter, and enhancements, she was actually so real and genuine—authentic in a way that reached through to us. Dolly Parton was unapologetically herself.
Even the announcement of Dolly’s death reflected her thoughtful approach to legacy planning. Years earlier, she asked her nephew, Bryan Seaver, to personally share the news when the time came. By making that decision in advance, Dolly ensured that her family, not the media, would announce her passing first and that the message would be delivered by someone she trusted, in a personal way that honored her faith, her family, and the life she lived. In the video announcing her death, Bryan said he had agreed to the responsibility years ago, before he fully absorbed it as a future reality. What a powerful reminder that legacy planning is about more than deciding what happens to your assets. It is also about deciding who will speak for you, how your story will be told, and how your legacy will be carried forward.
The list of her quotes could fill a book, but I’ll select a dozen of my favorite “Dolly-isms” to share with you.
- “Don’t get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.”
- “You can be rich in spirit, kindness, love and all those things that you can’t put a dollar sign on.”
- “I always had a very open mind and a very open heart. I always look for the good in everybody and the God in everybody. I play to that. And I just love people. I love the difference in people. I love getting to know people. I appreciate getting accepted myself, because I know I’m unusual. And I love the unusual in other people.
- “You’ll never do a whole lot unless you’re brave enough to try.”
- “I always count my blessings more than I count my money. I don’t work for the money. Never did. It was the art.”
- “Storms make trees take deeper roots. If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.”
- “If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one.”
- “If you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours.”
- “We can’t just hope for a brighter day, we have to work for a brighter day.”
- “I think everybody should be treated with respect…. I hope that everybody gets a chance to be who and what they are.”
- “If you’re comfortable with yourself and know yourself, you’re going to shine, and radiate, and other people are going to be drawn to you.”
- “If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more, become more, then you are an excellent leader.”
Dolly’s sequins and glitter were a literal expression, but they created a figurative radiance that illuminated us. Though she wrote and sang to us the classic “I Will Always Love You,” we’re the ones who will always love Dolly. I know I will. The world sparkles less today, but the Dolly Parton legacy shines on brightly.
Marvin E. Blum
