Dolly Rebecca Parton was the definition of America’s sweetheart.
Loving, kind and beautiful across decades.
Flags in Yuma and across Arizona will be lowered to half staff until sunset on September 1st, in honor of the legend who committed her life to music and philanthropy.
The tragic news came after her death was announced on her social media account on Tuesday, August, 25.
Parton passed away at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Reports say she was admitted on August 21 for Kidney and autoimmune-related health issues.
In Yuma, her death also brought back memories for residents who had the opportunity to see her perform locally.
Yuma resident Valerie Morrill remembers seeing Parton perform at the old Yuma Post Auditorium during the early years of Parton’s career, when she was associated with country music star Porter Wagoner.
Valerie Morrill/ Yuma resident
Well, I may tick off some Porter Wagoner fans because she just stole the show. I mean, it's like just and she wasn't really individually at that time, you know, she was still his lead singer. So it was just incredible to watch her, you know, go from, from being a sort of a part time singer to being the, you know, most loved American there is.
Carmen: Can you describe a little bit of where this happened and how you felt?
Valerie Morrill/ Yuma resident: This was just right before Jolene hit the world. And the world was never the same. But, um, the Yuma at the time was probably fifteen, twenty thousand people, not very many. And Post Auditorium was one of the main places to go and see performances. And, you know, I'm talking about the old post school that's there where by Fourth Avenue and Marcus Pool, the auditorium there is used for a long time for events like this. She is just as tiny as she looks, you know, she's small as in person, as a receiver in the big show.
Carmen: Can you just briefly tell me how you're feeling about the news?
Valerie Morrill/ Yuma resident: I had just think I, you know, with the phones and such, you get these immediate notifications. So I was by myself and just, you know, my gosh, it just took my breath away. And you know, my goodness, we knew this had to be coming someday, but it just shouldn't have been already.
Yuma Historian, Jim Patrick, also known as the Yuma History guy, is a collector of all things culture and entertainment in Yuma found a historical Dolly Parton gem.
Jim Patrick / Retired Librarian
So I just found an old concert ad that Porter and Dolly were going to be at the post Mary Elizabeth Post School auditorium on May eleventh, 1974. I didn't actually have the concert review, um, that was published a couple days later until this morning. I was pulling that up and reading that and that was very interesting. Really. You have that. Wow, got that in front of me here. And it turns out there were about 900 people showed up for the concert. It was on a Monday evening, so I'm sure it wasn't a Prime Day for people to get away, but they had a good turnout and they said it lasted a little over two hours. Dolly sang some of her solo recordings, like Coat of Many Colors and Jolene and was her big hit that had just come out a few months prior to the to the concert. So of course she did that one. And then Porter and Dolly did a bunch of duets, and they have comedy routines and just all the things that country shows used to have.
KOFA Border Radio is paying tribute to Dolly Parton, honoring her life and legacy through her music.
