In 2005, Woodstock musician Larry Campbell was rehearsing with a band backing Dolly Parton for a string of television appearances.

His wife, Teresa Williams, had a family friend in Tennessee, where she grew up, who was a major Parton fan. Campbell asked Parton to autograph a photograph for him.

Parton said she would be glad to, but she didn’t have any photographs on hand. She asked Campbell for the young man’s address and promised to mail him an autographed picture and a note when she returned home to Tennessee.

“I figured, ‘Oh, that’s great,’” Campbell said. “I give her the address and figured, ‘That’s the end of that.’”

Two weeks later, the photograph arrived.

“And he’s spinning around the walls because he got a letter and a photo from Dolly Parton,” Campbell said.

Parton’s death Tuesday at 80 brought stories of her generosity into sharper focus, including several connections that stretched into the Catskills.

“She was one of the most genuine people I’ve ever met in this business,” said Campbell, a Grammy winner and former member of Bob Dylan’s band. “Genuine, generous and decent—just decent.”

One of those connections involved Holly George-Warren, an author from Phoenicia who spent more than five hours interviewing Parton and worked with her on several occasions.

“Spending time with Dolly was like hanging out with a girlfriend,” George-Warren said. “She was asking questions about me. She would just bring me in and just start relating to me on a human level.”

George-Warren was at the 2025 Grammy Awards with Parton’s niece, Rebecca Seaver, when their conversation turned to the Olive Free Library.

They were attending because “Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones,” which George-Warren co-authored with Parton, had been nominated for Best Audio Book, Narration, and Storytelling Recording. Seaver curated the clothing collection featured in the book.

George-Warren told Seaver that the Olive Free Library was planning a Dolly Parton-themed fundraiser.

The event, called “Dolly Forever,” celebrated the library’s participation in Parton’s Imagination Library, which mails free books to children from birth to age 5. The program has distributed more than 300 million books worldwide. The Olive Free Library and Phoenicia Library participate in the program.

The fundraiser would feature readings by George-Warren and a prize for the best Parton costume.

Seaver offered to ask her aunt to record a video greeting for the event. Parton agreed.

“We got a nice shout-out from Dolly for that event,” Olive Free Library Director Melissa McHugh said.

George-Warren, a former editorial director of Rolling Stone Press and the author of more than 20 books, began working with Parton in 2021. Parton’s team asked whether she would be interested in being considered as co-author of what became “Behind the Seams.”

George-Warren got the job and gained access to Parton’s extensive wardrobe. The collection ranged from denim and rhinestones to Santa Claus outfits Parton wore at annual Christmas parties for relatives.

“Her wardrobe was vast,” George-Warren said.

In her message to the Olive Free Library, Parton sounded much like the woman Campbell and George-Warren remembered: warm, funny, and generous with her time.

“I want to say thanks to the Olive Free Library for putting this shindig on, I guess,” Parton said. “I understand that Holly George-Warren, who’s a friend of mine, co-wrote my book, ‘Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestone,’ might be reading some tonight. So I’m sure you’ll enjoy that. I just want you to know I appreciate all of ya and I hope you have a big time. I wish I was there to party with ya.”

John W. Barry is a reporter for The Overlook. Reach him at john@theoverlooknews.com.