Episode 69 - Be a Little Dolly: Honoring Dolly Parton's Legacy of Grief, Generosity & Grandpa Honky's "Girlfriend" Artwork

Giving Grief Grace, a Grief Podcast for the Sandwich Generation

Loss changes everything. But it doesn't have to have the last word. Giving Grief Grace is a podcast dedicated to those in the throes of caregiving and loss with honest, compassionate conversations about grief, healing, and what it means to keep living after loss. Hosted by Lisa Hartung, a speaker, HR professional, and fellow griever, each episode creates space for the stories we don't always know how to tell.

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Giving Grief Grace, a Grief Podcast for the Sandwich Generation

Episode 69 - Be a Little Dolly: Honoring Dolly Parton's Legacy of Grief, Generosity & Grandpa Honky's "Girlfriend"

August 30, 2026 • Season 2 • Episode 69

0:00 | 11:59

This week, Lisa reflects on Dolly Parton's passing. Dolly was a legend, a woman whose warmth, honesty, and generosity touched millions. Her legacy teaches us about turning personal loss into lasting good. From the origin of the Imagination Library (born from her father's inability to read and write) to a heartwarming family story about a cardboard Dolly cutout that became her grandfather Honky Hartung's "girlfriend" after losing Alice, his wife of over 60 years, this episode is a celebration of how grief can inspire connection, creativity, and community impact.

Lisa shares personal family memories tied to Dolly from Dollywood road trips to enjoying the Imagination Library with her own daughter. Lisa challenges listeners: how can you "be a little Dolly" today, in honor of someone you've lost? How can you spread kindness and generosity?

Key Takeaways:

Dolly Parton founded the Imagination Library after her father never learned to read or write. Through this program, millions of children and families have been touched and the ripple effect will continue to influence change around the world for years to come.
Legacy work doesn't have to be grand. How would your loved one want you to remember them? How many people can you help? Start small, start local.
A simple, unconventional comfort object (like a cardboard cutout) can become a meaningful source of connection for someone grieving.
Honoring someone's memory can be as simple as continuing what they loved. Maybe it is helping children with literacy, spreading kindness, cooking for the people you love, or showing up authentically.
Ask loved ones, while they're here, how they want to be remembered and start carrying their story forward now.

Interested in bringing the Imagination Library to your community? You can apply here and if you'd like a personal contact of someone who has started a program in their area, email Lisa at hello@lisahartung.com.

This week, find your own small way to "be a little Dolly": a little sparkle, a little kindness, a little joy and give yourself grace.

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Special thanks to:

Podcast Editor Jacqueline van Bierk of Pink Star Music

Podcast Music Good_B_Music

09:34:28 --> 09:34:40
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: Welcome back to another episode of Giving Grief Grace. I hope that you are having a wonderful day and enjoying the weather, whatever it may be.

09:34:40 --> 09:34:56
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: This week we received news that Dolly Parton had passed away on August 25th of 2026 at the age of 80. And my goodness, Dolly Parton was such an influential.

09:34:56 --> 09:35:01
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: Businesswoman, musician, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and…

09:35:02 --> 09:35:08
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: She was one of those iconic women that people know around the world.

09:35:08 --> 09:35:25
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: And one thing that really made her special is she never lost touch of who she was. And I think when a public figure that so many people know and love dies, it really ignites something within us to say what qualities did we.

09:35:25 --> 09:35:35
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: Love about them and how can we live out their legacy through those qualities and so I think about how.

09:35:35 --> 09:35:40
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: Dolly Parton when her Dolly Parton's dad passed away.

09:35:40 --> 09:35:56
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: She then had the idea of the Imagination Library, and she would send books to children every single month to inspire reading. Her dad never learned to read and write, and so this was her way to honor.

09:35:56 --> 09:36:06
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: him, and to make sure that children in the community would know how to read and at least have the tools to be successful.

09:36:06 --> 09:36:18
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: And how selfless is that, and how incredible is that to say, okay, I know that this was something that happened in my life, and I want to help others so that.

09:36:18 --> 09:36:20
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: This doesn't happen again.

09:36:20 --> 09:36:26
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: And what a cool way to honor his legacy, right? And…

09:36:26 --> 09:36:37
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: And she created the Imagination Library with the idea that it would be generational change. And in…

09:36:37 --> 09:36:51
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: her nephew gave a speech after her passing and had said, look, I've been tasked with, you know, saying the condolences of the family and letting everyone know that Dolly has passed, and.

09:36:51 --> 09:37:07
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: And just saying how grateful she was that she was able to make lasting change and also to see that her generational legacy would continue.

09:37:07 --> 09:37:24
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: And that was the whole premise behind Imagination Library. And it's near and dear to my heart. I have a girlfriend from college who lives in a rural town in New Hampshire, and she noticed that there was a really great opportunity to bring the Imagination Library to her town.

09:37:24 --> 09:37:40
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: And it's really it's a it's a relatively, easy process to get involved. And it's just working with local communities and local, partners to help fund these projects.

09:37:40 --> 09:37:55
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: and bring really fun delight. I mean, kids get these books in the mail every single month, and it has their name on it, and how cool is it to get a book in the mail? Everyone loves a package, and so…

09:37:55 --> 09:38:10
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: We've done Imagination Library in our family, uh, with my oldest, and, uh, from when she was a newborn all the way until she turns 5, she receives one book in the mail every month.

09:38:10 --> 09:38:19
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: And so, that's a really cool connection that our family has to Dolly Parton. And my grandma and grandpa, um…

09:38:19 --> 09:38:35
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: Used to travel. They loved country music. And so they would travel to Tennessee and go to Dollywood, probably when it first opened. So, Dolly was born in 1946. She opened Dollywood in 1986. She was 40.

09:38:35 --> 09:38:49
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: So, I, um… we finally went as a family this past holiday season, and everyone was, like, gearing up to celebrate Dolly's 80th birthday in January of 2026, and…

09:38:49 --> 09:39:01
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: I thought holy smokes she was 40 when she founded Dollywood and I think gosh I'm you know I'm almost close to 40 and.

09:39:01 --> 09:39:16
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: Oh, what? Like, how am I going to leave an impact like that? Right? And how can we, where we are now, with our sphere of influence, make someone else's life better? And how can we pave the future for…

09:39:16 --> 09:39:21
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: For future generations, what's something that we can do?

09:39:21 --> 09:39:36
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: Oh, I was just so inspired by Dolly. You know, she's never let anyone get in the way, right? People have their ideas of whatever. Um, she's always been, you know, big hair.

09:39:36 --> 09:39:55
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: you know, voluptuous figure, um, and… and fun rhinestones, sparkle. She's just been a ray of sunshine for so many. So, how can you live out the Dolly Parton part of that… of the sunshine today? And how can you…

09:39:55 --> 09:40:10
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: You know, spread love, spread joy. A funny story, so Grammy and Grampy used to go to Dollywood, so it opened in '86, so they were kind of on their retirement path at that point in time, and um.

09:40:10 --> 09:40:22
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: So, they, uh, they would go, and once they went, and they heard that Dolly… she wasn't at Dollywood, but she was actually at her home, and they heard that she was just…

09:40:22 --> 09:40:37
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: you know, out in her yard, so they went by, uh, they just casually drove by her house, and they were able to chat with her, and that's something that's so cool, right? You can be so influential, um, but you're a normal person.

09:40:37 --> 09:40:50
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: you also like connection with people, uh, with normal people. And so I just love that about her, that she… she would be in her audience as well, and that's just such a gift. And…

09:40:50 --> 09:41:04
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: So, after Grandma passed, um, you know, they had been married for 63… Grandma and Grandpa had been married for 63 years, and, um, when you spend your whole life with someone, um.

09:41:05 --> 09:41:15
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: it's… it's just magnificent, uh, and there's so much a part of you, and so Grandpa was really lost after Grandma, uh, passed away.

09:41:15 --> 09:41:22
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: And I'm thinking now, it might have been 66 years that they were married, um, but…

09:41:22 --> 09:41:29
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: Well, I did a whole podcast with Grandpa, so you can go to that episode to get the real details. But so.

09:41:30 --> 09:41:48
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: Uh, after Grandma passed, I sent Grandpa a girlfriend in the mail, and it was a cardboard cutout of Dolly Parton, and he just loved her so much. He, um, had her up on his porch, because that's where he has visitors, and people drive by, and they can see.

09:41:48 --> 09:42:04
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: And then, uh, he actually loaded her into the car and brought her to McDonald's, because he goes to see his friends every, uh, every day at McDonald's. And he brought her in and was like, hey, have you seen my girlfriend? Her name is Dolly Parton. And I just thought that was so sweet.

09:42:04 --> 09:42:20
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: So, and whenever someone new comes in, he goes, oh yeah, that's my girlfriend Dolly. And she's standing there and, but it's someone that he can talk to. And yeah, it's okay that it's a cardboard cutout. And if you're like, oh, that's an interesting idea.

09:42:20 --> 09:42:37
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: They also do cardboard cutouts of people. So if you lost your loved one and you want your parent to be able to see them and speak to them, then you can make a cardboard cutout of your loved one for people who are still living.

09:42:37 --> 09:42:46
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: It's kind of an interesting thing, uh, and everyone… different strokes for different folks, but my grandpa has loved having Dolly Parton, and now, um…

09:42:46 --> 09:42:54
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: my great-aunt called him and was like, it's a collector's item now! You've got a collector's item, girlfriend! Um, but…

09:42:54 --> 09:43:13
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: Um, so Dolly has just been such a light for so many people. She has been such a force for good, and so I want to honor her and do a force for good. And one thing that she loved was helping literacy. My mom also helped… loved helping children in literacy.

09:43:13 --> 09:43:30
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: And that's why our family has continued to invest in our libraries, our local libraries, because everything happens at a local level, right? It starts small and then you can expand your sphere of influence. So I hope that Dolly Parton's legacy has inspired you.

09:43:30 --> 09:43:36
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: to do something kind for your community in honor of your loved one.

09:43:37 --> 09:43:43
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: They are always with us, and it is so cool to see how impactful that.

09:43:43 --> 09:43:54
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: one small act of kindness can be. Think about Dolly. She started the Imagination Library to help other kids read because her dad was never able to.

09:43:54 --> 09:43:57
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: And now, over…

09:43:57 --> 09:43:59
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: Probably a million kids.

09:43:59 --> 09:44:15
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: more than a million kids. They send… they send books to about 850,000 kids a month. So think about that over the generations, uh, that she's had the Imagination Library. It's just so incredible, and you can do that too.

09:44:15 --> 09:44:32
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: So think of how, what would be a really cool way that you could influence your community with your loved one in mind. And if they're still alive or they're at the end of their life, chat with them and say, how would you like to leave your legacy? What would you like to be remembered by?

09:44:32 --> 09:44:36
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: And how can we help carry your, your.

09:44:36 --> 09:44:43
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: life and your story forward? And how can we help others in the meantime?

09:44:43 --> 09:44:44
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: So.

09:44:44 --> 09:44:50
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: Dolly Parton, I am sending so much love to you, your family, I'm so grateful.

09:44:50 --> 09:44:57
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: for the light that you shined on the earth and will continue to shine. Your songs were so beautiful.

09:44:58 --> 09:45:17
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: straight to the core, honest, integrity, honesty, integrity, like, real life, like, not glazing over everything and just really getting into the nitty-gritty, and I think that's just such a gift. So, how can we be more honest and natural and down-to-earth in ourselves?

09:45:17 --> 09:45:26
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: Right. And also be glittery at the same time. My favorite when we went to Dollywood, my favorite part of the.

09:45:26 --> 09:45:41
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: of going to visit was we got to go to Dolly's tour bus, and I think this one had been retired in 06, but she'd had it from 86 to 06, and she had a little kitchenette in there.

09:45:41 --> 09:45:53
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: because she loved to cook. So when she was on tour, she would cook for herself. She didn't do the dishes, so she would have paper plates, but she loved to cook for her and her crew. And how cool is that? We are never.

09:45:53 --> 09:46:11
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: too big, or too famous, or too important to do the things that we really love. And she… she had a very strict diet that she wanted to have, and so she loved cooking, and so she cooked for herself and her crew, and how cool is that?

09:46:11 --> 09:46:29
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: that she's touring, she's being in front of millions of people throughout the tour, and here she is. She's, you know, back in the bus, making dinner for everyone. I just think it's so wholesome. So, so sweet. She also had pink toilet paper, which I thought was.

09:46:29 --> 09:46:39
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: So fun and so lush. Uh, so, hey, if you want to be a little Dolly, uh, think about that. So, um, oh, yes, but…

09:46:39 --> 09:46:46
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: it's hard to lose a legend like that, but how can we live Dolly's light out today? So…

09:46:46 --> 09:47:03
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: Sending so much love to you and to Dolly's family and to all of those who receive the Imagination Library books. And if you are interested in starting the Imagination Library in your neck of the woods, they do have an international program.

09:47:03 --> 09:47:20
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: Please feel free to contact me and I'll put you in contact with my friend who did that. I think it's so inspiring and so selfless, so what a gift. All right, thank you so much. Have a wonderful week ahead and let's be a little Dolly. How can you add a little Dolly into your day today?

09:47:20 --> 09:47:31
Lisa Hartung - Giving Grief Grace: either kindness, or exuberance, or a little pop of joy, or maybe some sparkle. So, alright, sending love to you all. Have a good one. Bye-bye.

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