Flags in Park City lowered to half-staff as residents honor Dolly Parton’s passing

PCHS remembering Dolly Parton. Photo: TownLift // Michele Roepke

PARK CITY, Utah — The passing of Dolly Parton was announced by her family on Tuesday, and later that same day a staff member of the Park City High School began lowering its flag.

Following a Presidential Proclamation, Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox ordered the flags of the state of Utah to be flown at half-staff at all state facilities in recognition of the Parton’s passing.

TownLift published this article on Tuesday morning, announcing her nonprofit Operation Literacy is expanding its Utah program after it distributed nearly 47,000 books into Summit County. The article was updated later that afternoon to include the news of her death.

Executive Director of Temple Har Shalom Deb Sheldon got overwhelmed with emotion when talking to TownLift about how much Parton meant to her as an inspiration, and how much she meant to the world. 

Below is a picture of Sheldon’s office wall adorned with a personalized, signed Parton portrait, and a pink, fuzzy notebook Sheldon got as a birthday present years ago from someone else in the office, it reads, “What Would Dolly Do?”