Dolly Parton’s death on Aug. 25 has been felt around the world, including on the University of Mississippi campus. The legendary artist, songwriter, actress and philanthropist died at 80 years old after a six-decade-long, groundbreaking career that impacted people across the nation.
Mary Haskell is the former chair of the Ole Miss Women’s Council for Philanthropy and wife to Parton’s agent, Sam Haskell. She was also Parton’s lifelong friend.
“(Parton) just loved everything about Oxford and Ole Miss. Ole Miss was one of her husband’s favorite schools,” Mary Haskell said.
The university was set to host Parton at the Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts to receive the 2020 Legacy Award presented by the women’s council. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, though, her visit was postponed until 2022.
“She said, ‘Come hell or high water, I’m getting to Oxford. I’m not going to come somewhere where I have to wear a mask. I’m going to come when I can hug people,’” Mary Haskell said.
Dolly Parton speaking during a story time event hosted by the Ole Miss Women’s Council for Philanthropy in the Gertrude Castellow Ford Center for the Performing Arts in April 2022. Photo courtesy of Ole Miss Women’s Council for Philanthropy.
Aside from her country-music stardom, Parton is also known for her contributions to children’s literacy. To conclude her visit in Oxford, Parton held a “Storytime with Dolly” event to highlight her Imagination Library program, a free book gifting program that mails books to children monthly from birth to age 5, regardless of family income.
“Dolly said, ‘I want every school kid invited (for) free,’ and we did (invite them),” Mary Haskell said. “We just filled the Ford Center with all of these children from Oxford and Lafayette County. It was really several days of just love and fellowship.”
Mary Haskell’s uplifting and sincere perspective on Parton’s death was not focused on the absence of her friend but on the beauty it was to have had someone so special in her family’s life.
“It’s about the joy of remembering and celebrating her over the past couple of days, as opposed to just mourning her,” Mary Haskell said. “When grief slows you down and just flat stops you in your tracks, it gives you the gift of time and reflection.”
Parton remembered Oxford as fondly as she is remembered in town today. She, alongside her agent, Sam Haskell, made 12 television movies during their time together. Parton, Sam Haskell and two other producers, Debbie Allen and Maria S. Schlatter won an Emmy award for their 2020 film, Christmas on the Square, which was partially inspired by the Square in Oxford.
“A little bit of it came from Sam (Haskell), and a little bit of it came from Dolly,” Mary Haskell said about the film.
Following Parton’s passing, students at the university reminisced on the impact of Parton’s unwavering admiration and connection to the American South. Parton was raised in rural East Tennessee, and many Southerners feel inspired by her rags-to-riches story.
“She meant a lot to the South, especially Southern girls,” Niam Bleck, a sophomore film production student from Madison, Miss., said.
Kaylee Malford, a biochemistry major from Columbus, Miss., especially admired Parton’s investment in future generations.
“She has done some great things, like the Imagination Library,” Malford said. “Her soul was very bright. She’s a trademark of the South.”
Keshun Morgan, a junior legal studies major from Ripley, Miss., said his connection to Parton stemmed from his own charitable experience.
“We both gave to the Boys and Girls Club, and knowing that both of us did charity work, I felt more connected to her,” Morgan said. “She was larger than life. She did more than what she had to, and she wasn’t like other celebrities to me.”
