Dolly Parton was more than a pretty face.
After a poverty-stricken childhood in the hills of Tennessee, Parton became more than a big country star who wrote her own — and other artists’ — hit songs. She turned into a shrewd and self-taught entrepreneur, managing her image, her song catalog and a quiver of other businesses, including the successful Dollywood theme park back home.
Parton, who died Tuesday at the age of 80, not only lifted her own extended family out of poverty, she also spread her wealth far and wide through any number of philanthropic efforts.
Free tuition for her company employees. Scholarships for low-income students who kept a pledge to graduate from high school. A million dollars of her own hard-earned money to boost the development of a Covid-19 vaccine — making it a point to be photographed receiving one of the first doses.
The part of her generosity that reached the furthest, including to Utah, was her campaign to promote literacy among young children. In memory of her beloved father, who worked hard but was always limited by the fact that he never learned how to read, she created her Imagination Library. It sent books — more than 300 million of them over the last 30 years — to children up to 5 years old to encourage a love of reading at an age when it could last a lifetime.
In an age when religion so often is used to divide people, and wealth to self-aggrandize, Parton personified a type of Christianity that Jesus might actually have recognized, and shared her good fortune with others. She stood up for, perhaps because she so empathized with, the downtrodden of society. Women in the workplace. Poor children. Members of the LGBT community.
Dolly Parton was an angel before she got to heaven.
Editorials represent the opinions of The Salt Lake Tribune editorial board, which operates independently from the newsroom.