Dolly Parton was synonymous with Southern culture, country music and the charitable, folksy charm that highlighted both her talent and generosity.
Parton's home state of Tennessee saw the bulk of her influence, leading Gov. Bill Lee to call her "Tennessee's favorite daughter" when she turned 80 in January. But like a good Southern neighbor, she also had strong ties to North Carolina through her support of literacy programs and philanthropy for storm victims.
Other WRAL Top Stories
It's one of the lasting memories people have of her after news of her death spread on Tuesday afternoon. Parton died at a Nashville hospital after a brief battle with cancer.
Her strongest and most recent Tar Heel State connection came after Hurricane Helene in 2024, when Parton and her organizations donated millions of dollars toward recovery efforts in North Carolina and across the South. Parton, along with Dollywood Parks & Resorts, The Dollywood Foundation, Dolly Parton’s Stampede and Pirates Voyage, partnered with Walmart to support flood relief across the Appalachian region.
In 2018, Parton came to Marbles Kids Museum in Raleigh to help launch the statewide rollout of her Imagination Library. The program provides free books to young children to encourage early literacy. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and his wife, Kristin Cooper, joined her. Since its inception, the Imagination Library has distributed hundreds of millions of books.
“I started the Imagination Library, got my dad involved in it with me," she told WRAL at the time. "He took a lot of pride in the fact that we were doing a lot of good in helping a lot of kids in a situation that he had found himself in as a child.”
In 2006, Parton lent her celebrity to the Carolina Crossroads project in Roanoke Rapids, joining her brother Randy Parton for a groundbreaking at the planned entertainment complex. Its $21.5 million theater opened in 2007. Parton had also appeared with Randy in Roanoke Rapids to promote the project.
Gov. Josh Stein shared his condolences on social media, calling Parton "one of our best."
Parton had at least three shows in Raleigh during her career. She performed at Dorton Arena in 1971, Raleigh Memorial Auditorium in 1976, Reynolds Coliseum in 1985 and RBC Center in 2008.
In Asheville, music fans gathered at a mural of Parton and placed flowers along the wall.
Former UNC coach remembers VIP treatment at show
Former UNC women’s basketball coach Sylvia Hatchell said the news brought her to tears. She describes herself as a huge Dolly Parton fan. Parton even left Hatchell a note when Hatchell was coaching at Francis Marion University, and she still has it today.
Parton was using Hatchell’s locker room as a dressing room for a concert. Hatchell left her a note, and Parton returned the favor.
"She wrote me a note back, and she thanked me for letting her use the locker room and all the hospitality, and she wished my team good luck," Hatchell told WRAL. "I think that's the year we won a national championship. So yeah, she wished us good luck and that paid off."
Despite Parton’s signature look of blonde wigs and long, fake nails, Hatchell said what she admired most about Parton was her authenticity.
"I coached 44 years and so a lot of her qualities and characteristics and all, I have used those in team building, leadership talks that I give and everything," Hatchell said. "There's so many things that Dolly has taught the world."
Garner's Scotty McCreery remembers Dolly
North Carolina's own American Idol winner, Scotty McCreery, posted on Facebook Tuesday night, writing, "Meeting Dolly on the Red Carpet at the ACM Awards in Las Vegas in 2016 was a bucket-list moment for me. No one had ever made me speechless until I met her. She was so gracious, and in the middle of all the craziness that happens on the carpet with her people moving her around and my team moving me around, I’ll still never forget how she made me feel at that moment...like I was the only person she wanted to talk with."
He went on to write, "She was one of the greatest to ever do it, with a gift for making everyone around her feel special. Her music, her heart, her faith, her generosity, and the light she brought into this world will live on forever."
Former WRAL reporter recalls meeting Dolly
Former WRAL reporter Kasey Cunningham interviewed Dolly Parton during her 2019 visit to Marbles Kids Museum in downtown Raleigh.
Cunningham said she will always remember how kind Parton was and how attentive she was to members of the local media attending the event.
Parton visited to celebrate the expansion of her Imagination Library across North Carolina.
North Carolina was the second state to expand the program statewide. In Wake County alone, it has served 75,000 children since 2018.
"Dolly Parton was really passionate about this because her father was unable to read," Cunningham said. "She always said her father was the smartest person she knew, but he didn't know how to read. And she wanted to make sure every child had the opportunity to do so, which is why she, of course, started this book gifting program."
Future of Imagination Library in Wake County
The General Assembly recently appropriated funds to continue Imagination Library programs for preschool-age children in North Carolina.
The program mails free books to young children, and Smart Start tells WRAL it will continue administering the program in Parton’s honor.