Dolly Parton: Advocate of the Year, Ally of a Lifetime

“Back through the years, I go wanderin’ once again, back to the seasons of my youth.” These are the first words that come to mind as I sit down to reflect on my personal connection to the late, great Dolly Parton. In fact, it seems like just about every person on the planet was touched in some way by the entertainment legend and humanitarian. And I am no different.The above lyrics are from “Coat of Many Colors,” Dolly’s beautiful, bluegrass-infused ode to her humble beginnings in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. Like Dolly, I grew up poor in a large, theatrical family, and this song instantly conjures images of my own childhood: listening to records and dancing with my siblings in the living room while my mother sewed my Halloween costume. “One is only poor, only if they choose to be,” the song ultimately concludes. Young Dolly poses for a school portrait in Tennessee, circa 1955.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty ImagesThis scene from my youth feels similar to Parton’s descriptions of her own, as she was raised with 11 siblings in a small, rural, two-room cabin without electricity or running water. Despite the family’s financial situation, Dolly’s memories of those days are fond ones, filled with music, love, and laughter.I had the honor of asking Dolly’s younger sister, Stella Parton, about their childhood, and she echoed her famous sister’s sentiments.“It was like a continual playground with your favorite playmates running around — what felt like paradise under a canopy of trees, making playhouses in the woods and making up all kinds of fun games with my siblings and cousins,” Stella recalls. “One of my favorite memories was playing church in an old, abandoned church house on our property, where we learned our harmonies and learned to sing out of hymnals that had been left there.”Music — and fun — had always been central to the Parton family, which is certainly evident in the joy and good vibes Dolly beamed throughout the world d