Dolly Parton And Her Foundation Impacted Many Here
The world lost a rhinestonestudded icon in Dolly Parton when the beloved singer, songwriter, actress and philanthropist died last week at age 80.
In a world where it seems that there’s not a lot that people can agree on, Parton had a way of uniting people with her charming wit, her generosity and her relatable, personal songwriting.
That generosity of spirit rippled through Rockbridge County through one local Gold Star family’s bittersweet connection to the late singer, through her Imagination Library program and through her many local fans, especially one particularly diehard one.
Remembering Drew Ross United States Army Capt. Andrew Patrick Ross, 29, of Lexington, was killed in action in 2018. At the time, his uncle worked for Parton, his sister, Sarah Ross Geisen, wrote on a post on Facebook in the days after she died.
“The kindness from her and the Dollywood team came almost immediately,” Geisen wrote. “Flowers. People reaching out. And weeks after his loss, a plaque honoring Drew placed at the base of the flagpole just outside the gates of Dollywood. It is still there.”
Geisen said the year after her brother’s death, the family traveled to Tennessee and met with the singer.
“Dolly knew about Drew and wanted to sit with them,” Geisen said. “She wanted to hear who he was from the people who loved him. She didn’t have to do any of it.”
At the time, Geisen was expecting her third child, but she and her husband had not revealed the gender.
“Sitting with Dolly seemed like the right way to hand the family some good news. So Dolly made the announcement: it was a baby boy. Andrew. She was genuinely sweet and excited for us. That little boy, our Andrew, became such a bright light after the storm. I love knowing Dolly was part of celebrating his life before he even entered this world,” Geisen wrote.
Geisen said that while the world may know Dolly Parton for her music, Ross’s family appreciates her humanity and all that she did to help people live better lives and make them feel seen.
Dolly’s Imagination Library
Hundreds of Rockbridge County children have also benefited from Parton’s philanthropy through one of her most cherished projects: the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, which provides free books for children. The program was established in 1995 and mails one age-appropriate book a month to kids from birth to 5 years old in participating local organizations around the world.
One of those participating organizations is New Providence Presbyterian Church in Brownsburg.
The Rev. Loren Tate Mitchell said last week that in 2024, a church member proposed becoming a partner with the library, which is run through the Dollywood Foundation. The way it works is that the foundation provides administrative support, chooses the books and negotiates pricing, while local organizations raise funds to cover the cost of mailing books to children and maintain families’ addresses.
Mitchell said the Rockbridge County program currently has more than 800 children signed up. The program is not based on need, so every child in the county is eligible to sign up. All parents have to do is visit the Imagination Library website and find their local partner location. In Rockbridge County, parents can also sign up in person at New Providence.
Mitchell said church members have really taken ownership of the program and also encourage families to sign up at local events around the county.
“We have some really outgoing folks that don’t mind seeing a family across the way and running over and being like, ‘Hey, have you heard about this?’ I don’t want to say it runs itself, but as more and more people become aware of it, it’s just easily grown,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell said children are thrilled to receive their monthly packages from Dolly.
“What’s neat about them is, when the child gets their box, it’s got their name on it, so the child is receiving the mail, and they know it’s from the library,” Mitchell said. “I think it instills in them an excitement about reading.”
Mitchell said the program is especially useful in rural areas where parents may not be able to get to a library as easily.
“Being able to build a little library at home for families I think is really great,” she said.
Mitchell said she was sad to hear about Parton’s death, but happy to carry on her mission.
“I always have admired her. She’s such a force, and the way she lived her life and the generosity that she shared, I think is just incredible,” she said. “I was really excited to be able to play some small, tiny little part in what she’s done.”
The Mega Fan
Dolly Parton is a way of life for Lexington’s Katherine Brinkley. The director of board operations at Washington and Lee University is perhaps Rockbridge County’s biggest Dolly fan, and she doesn’t shy away from it, either personally or when it comes to her professional life.
At home, she has a Dolly-themed bathroom. Dolly-themed pillows. Dolly-themed magnets. Dolly-themed cast-iron pans. Numerous Dolly tchotchkes gifted to her by friends. She has a cat named Jolene. You get the picture.
She even has a shrine to her idol in her office at W&L.
Brinkley was at work on Aug. 25 when she first learned her beloved Dolly had died. She was in a meeting with her boss when she started getting flooded with notifications from friends and family.
“And (my boss), because she knows how much I love her, was like, ‘Let’s not assume anything,’” Brinkley said. But a quick Google search confirmed the sad news.
“It was pure shock, and almost like disbelief,” Brinkley said. “I went home. I put that on my pajamas. Put on ‘Steel Magnolias’ on and sort of allowed myself to grieve.”
Brinkley said her love for her idol started at a very young age through her parents.
“What I first really remember is my mom had the Dolly Parton Greatest Hits cassette tape that came out in 1983,” Brinkley said. “I remember being fascinated by the image of her on the on the cover of the tape and listening to that album. It’s always been kind of like Dolly’s been a family thing for us. But yeah, my first memories are that cassette tape in the car.”
Brinkley and her parents traveled to see Parton play at the Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts in Vienna in 2016. Brinkley was amazed that the then 70-yearold had the stamina to play a three-and-a-half hour set. She also was able to see Parton perform at the 50th anniversary of her induction to into the Grand Ole Opry in 2019.
Brinkley said Parton’s concerts had a way of bringing all sorts of different people together.
“The audience was the most diverse audience. You know, everyone, every type of personality, was there,” Brinkley said.
Brinkley never got to meet her hero but said that is for the best.
“They say never meet your idols,” Brinkley said. “It’s almost like it leaves in me the perception of her being still perfect.”
Brinkley said Dolly was such a beloved figure that she’s never really had to explain her fandom to people.
“It’s not hard to explain how much she means because everybody adores her,” Brinkley said. “So many people have come up to me this week and have said, ‘Are you okay? Or you know, ‘This is awful. And I’m like, ‘But you’re mourning too.’ Everybody’s mourning her. And so I think she meant so much to so many people.”
