Dolly Parton helps dying Utah man cross item off his bucket list with surprise call, serenade
A dying Dolly Parton superfan was able to cross an item off his bucket list when the country music legend called him last week — and serenaded him with one of her most iconic hits.
LeGrand “LG” Gold, who lives in Orem, Utah, but originally hails from Parton’s home state of Tennessee, had been fighting colon cancer for the past two years when received the terrible news three weeks ago that it had spread and treatment was no longer working, KSLTV reported.
He has a few months left to live and has entered hospice care.
A year ago, he scrawled “LG’s List of Living” — 10 things he wanted to do before he died — on a napkin.
No. 7 was “Meet Dolly Parton,” one of his favorite artists.
“I thought, ‘Well, it’s never going to happen,'” he told the station.
But days after his wife, Alice, shared LG’s wish list on social media, they received a phone call from a Tennessee area code. It was Parton.
“Well, I’m just happy to know I have a fan that devoted,” the 77-year-old icon told Gold. “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.”
She told Gold that she hoped the call would lift his spirits, which she said was always her goal for making music.
“Just know that I will always love you,” Parton said before breaking out into her mega-hit, adding Gold’s name into the lyrics, according to the outlet.
Gold was floored.
“I feel like I’m immortal now,” he said.
Gold told KSLTV a week earlier that he’s been a massive fan of the 11-time Grammy winner since childhood.
He said he and Alice raised their five kids around Parton, taking trips to her Dollywood theme park and reading books sent to them through Dolly’s Imagination Library — Parton’s free book-gifting program.
“She’s unapologetic about loving everyone,” Alice Gold told the outlet.
Other items on Gold’s list include attending a March Madness game, which the massive college basketball fan has not had the chance to cross off yet.
Before speaking to Parton, Gold said his favorite item he had checked off was a trip to Chicago to see Natalie Merchant in concert.
Alice Gold shared her husband’s wish to meet Parton on social media and the post went viral, eventually reaching the country icon. He was so grateful that she made the time to reach out.
“It was really cool,” Gold said. “It made me feel good.”
