Stella Parton, the younger sister of the late country music legend Dolly Parton, has revealed that Dolly offered to receive experimental cancer drugs in the hope of helping future patients, according to a Facebook tribute shared on Thursday.
Sister's tribute highlights Dolly's generosity
In her tribute, Stella Parton wrote: "My sister was one of the most generous, thoughtful and kind people I've ever known. What the world saw is exactly who she was." Stella, one of 11 siblings and also a country music singer-songwriter, shared that Dolly, who died aged 80 on Tuesday shortly after being diagnosed with cancer, volunteered for experimental medical treatments.
"She told me recently that if there was no hope for her, she would still allow her medical team to try experimental drugs in the hope of helping others in the future," Stella wrote. "My sister was always thinking of others."
Fans urged to honor legacy with kindness
Stella added that fans wishing to honor Dolly's legacy should "show more kindness, lift others up and give more of your time and resources as she continued to do to the very end." Dolly Parton was taken to the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville following kidney and autoimmune issues and died surrounded by family.
"If anyone gets to heaven I'm sure she made it right on time," Stella wrote. "I know she's showing out big time, in all her sparkles and shine." Stella also shared that the sisters had a phone coffee date every Tuesday morning "before the sun came up."
Widespread tributes and national mourning
"My Tuesday morning coffee time will never be the same but her love, respect and goodness will remain," Stella wrote. "She left the world a better place by being in it so let's follow her example."
Speaking to the Guardian in 2016, Parton said she had a happy childhood despite being raised with so many siblings in a one-room cabin in Tennessee. "It was crowded! With that many brothers and sisters there was plenty of teasing and fighting but we were all in it together," she said.
Figures across music, film, politics and beyond have paid tribute to Parton since her death, with fans flocking to her Dollywood theme park in Tennessee and American flags lowered to half-mast nationwide, including at the White House.
