Dolly Parton performed at Ruth Eckerd Hall three times and left a literacy legacy that still reaches Pinellas County children each month.
Parton died Tuesday, Aug. 25, at age 80 at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville after what her team called a brief battle with cancer.
Bobby Rossi, chief programming officer and executive vice president of entertainment at Ruth Eckerd Hall, said Parton's connection to the Clearwater venue spanned decades. She performed at the 2,180-seat hall on McMullen Booth Road in 1992, 2008 and 2011. A fourth appearance in 2016, produced through Ruth Eckerd Hall On The Road, took place in Tampa, Tampa Bay 28 reported.
"I just turned around and watched the audience reaction, and it was just magic," Rossi told Tampa Bay 28. "I mean, if there's a spot on Mount Rushmore for a person, it should be her."
Rossi said Parton occupied a category beyond stardom. "So many people use the word star in our business ... and then there are superstars," he said. "That's her category."
Meghan Lewallen, a Clearwater-area fan, told Tampa Bay 28 she felt a huge light had been taken from the world. "She just loved everybody," Lewallen said.
Parton's books still arrive locally
Parton launched the Imagination Library in 1995 in her home county in East Tennessee, inspired by her father, who could not read. The program has since donated more than 300 million free books to children worldwide and now ships more than 3 million books each month, according to the Imagination Library.
Locally, UP Pinellas has run the program in Tarpon Springs for three years, serving more than 500 children. The nonprofit currently mails about 310 books each month to children from birth through age 5. The first book each child receives is "The Little Engine That Could," Parton's favorite as a girl.
Jenn Davis, vice president of UP Pinellas, told WTSP on Aug. 25 that the program carries no cost to families and no income requirement. Davis said UP Pinellas plans to expand into another ZIP code to reach more families across Pinellas County.
No timeline for the expansion has been announced.
Parton was admitted to Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center on Friday, Aug. 21, and died four days later, surrounded by family. Her nephew, Bryan Seaver, announced the death on social media.
How to get involved
Families should check whether the program is available in their ZIP code before registering children from birth through age 5 for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library through UP Pinellas. Details are available at imaginationlibrary.com/usa.
