Edmontonians are reacting to the death of legendary musician and philanthropist Dolly Parton. Her publicist says the 80-year-old died peacefully in her home in Nashville on Tuesday, just days after Parton told People magazine she was dealing with an undisclosed health condition. Joy Gagnon says she’s been a fan of Parton since she was a little girl. “I just felt it was like an angel here on earth singing,” she told CTV News Edmonton. “I remember sitting and listening at my sister’s farm on an eight-track tape that she had, and everything in my life has had a bit of Dolly Parton in it.” Gagnon says her wedding song was ‘Islands in the Stream’. She signed her grandchildren up for Imagination Library, Parton’s charity that encourages literacy in young children. “She was such a good human, she really was. She helped so many people,” she said. “She was so honest about her wigs and her makeup and her fingernails all being fake. But she wasn’t fake at all. She was just a true, beautiful woman.” Gagnon says finding out about Parton’s death was heartbreaking. “My family and friends know how much I really love Dolly Parton, and they’ve been sending me messages and stuff. It means a lot.” Edmonton drag queen Vanity Fair called Parton’s death “a bit stunning.” “It feels kind of like when Princess Diana died,” she told CTV News Edmonton. “It feels very personal, even though I’ve never met the woman.” She says Parton has been an inspiration for many in the drag community. “Dolly’s probably the reason most of us are drag performers. Honestly, the big hair, the makeup, she’s just larger than life and commands attention, and who doesn’t want that in their life?” And Parton’s charity work has also been a source of inspiration for fundraising in Edmonton, according to Vanity Fair. “I think all of us little drag performers that have been inspired by Dolly over the years, just keep going out there, doing her music, impersonating her, helping raise money for any cause, any and every cause that needs money.” University of Alberta PhD student Alexis Baril says Parton remains an important role model for women decades after launching her career. “She’s kind of redefined what it meant to be a female country star,” she said. “If you just think about her career, starting as a girl artist on Porter (Wagoner)’s show, going to writing and publishing her own music, then eventually owning her whole catalogue, and then being this multi-hyphenate mogul. “You can be unapologetically authentic to who you are and where you came from without sacrificing even the teeniest tiniest bit of what you want to do and what it means to be successful.” Baril says she’ll be honouring Parton by playing her music tonight. “I’ve never met a single person who says they don’t love Dolly. “The joy in (her songs) is contagious.” Parton’s last show in Edmonton was in 2016. With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Connor Hogg
