Dolly Parton heard about a man's dying wish and called his family. Photo / AP
Dolly Parton heard about a man's dying wish and called his family. Photo / AP
Dolly Parton has granted a dying man’s Christmas wish.
The singer called Utah resident LeGrand Gold, who grew up in Tennessee just like Dolly, 77, after learning one of his bucket-list items was to get in touch with her before he died.
Gold made his list with his wife Alice Gold after he was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2019. Among the 11 dying desires was to “meet Dolly Parton”.
He told KSL-TV about how he had been resigned to Parton never getting in touch: “I thought, ‘Well, it’s never going to happen’.”
But after the dad-of-five was told his cancer was “spreading” and his chemotherapy was “not working any more” Parton heard about his plight and called the Gold family.
Gold’s wife recorded the call, which started with Parton asking her husband how he was feeling and thanking him for being a lifelong fan.
Parton said: “Hey LG! It’s Dolly P! I’ve heard you’ve been a fan of mine for many years and I just wanted to thank you for that.”
Dolly Parton told fan and dying man LeGrand Gold that she “will always love” him before serenading him with a short rendition of "I Will Always Love You". Photo / Getty Images
After chatting, Parton also told Gold how thankful she was they had been on the same “journey together in this lifetime.”
She added: “I’m just happy to know that I’ve touched your life in some way. So thank you for honouring me with that.”
LeGrand and Alice then got the chance to tell Parton how much she means to them.
He told the Jolene singer: “You’ve been a huge help, especially these past two years.”
Alice said to Parton: “We love your music, [LeGrand] has loved you his entire life, his family goes to Dollywood – like we have all been season pass holders for like ever – and we love you.”
Near the end of their call, Parton told Gold she “will always love” him before serenading him with a short rendition of I Will Always Love You – during which she changed the lyrics to” “I will always love LG.”
Gold said: “She sang a song, put my name in the song. I feel like I’m immortal now.
