{"id":12206,"date":"2026-08-27T22:53:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T21:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thehotedit.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/27\/vivacious-dolly-parton-never-lost-sight-of-her-modest-tennessee-upbringing-mayor-robert-fox-says\/"},"modified":"2026-08-27T22:53:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T21:53:00","slug":"vivacious-dolly-parton-never-lost-sight-of-her-modest-tennessee-upbringing-mayor-robert-fox-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thehotedit.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/27\/vivacious-dolly-parton-never-lost-sight-of-her-modest-tennessee-upbringing-mayor-robert-fox-says\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Vivacious&#8217; Dolly Parton never lost sight of her modest Tennessee upbringing, mayor Robert Fox says"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Dolly Parton has <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/08\/25\/entertainment\/inside-the-late-dolly-partons-modest-early-life\/\">always stayed true to her humble roots<\/a> \u2014 even after becoming a global icon with a net worth of millions.<\/p>\n<p>The \u201cJolene\u201d singer <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/08\/25\/entertainment\/inside-the-late-dolly-partons-modest-early-life\/\">grew up in a one-bedroom cabin<\/a> in the Great Smoky Mountains in Locust Ridge, just outside of Sevierville, Tennessee, with her parents and 11 siblings. <\/p>\n<p>Following her <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/08\/25\/celebrity-news\/dolly-partons-cause-of-death-revealed\/\">death at the age of 80<\/a> on Tuesday, Page Six exclusively spoke to Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters, who had known Parton all his life. He gushed over the fact that the musician never changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHer family didn\u2019t have a lot, but they had the things that mattered,\u201d he recalled. \u201cShe\u2019s shown that over the years. She was such a treasure to us with her talent and generosity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Waters \u2014 himself a lifelong Sevier County resident \u2014 said Parton would sometimes ride the bus to see her aunt and uncle, who lived below him.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Page Six exclusively spoke to Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters, who had known Dolly Parton all his life. The singer was born and raised in Sevier County in a one-bedroom cabin with her parents and 11 siblings. <span class=\"credit\">Page Six<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Waters (pictured above) gushed over the fact that Parton never forgot her humble roots and always gave back to the community, even after becoming an icon in the country music world. He also recalled her \u201cvivacious\u201d personality. <span class=\"credit\">Page Six<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cMy grandfather would have her sing gospel songs on the bus,\u201d he shared. \u201cAfter most everyone would get off, he\u2019d go, \u2018Dolly, sing us a gospel song.\u2019 And she\u2019d do that. She always had that talent. And always had that vivacious personality, that smile, that love for people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe didn\u2019t change over the years,\u201d he continued. \u201cAnd boy, do I appreciate that. So many people who have achieved that level of fame \u2014 they change and forget where they come from. Dolly never did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He added, \u201cShe was so proud of this area and we were so proud of her and continue to be proud of her \u2014 proud of what a girl from the mountains of Sevier County made of herself. She did that herself. She is not only a great talent and generous, she\u2019s a smart businessperson who understood what it took to be successful.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Waters said Parton advocated for Sevier County all over the world, and that he felt shock and sorrow when he heard the news that <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/08\/25\/celebrity-news\/country-music-icon-dolly-parton-dead\/\">she had died Tuesday<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Waters noted that Parton (seen here in 1955) was proud of the area and was extremely generous. <span class=\"credit\">Michael Ochs Archives<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The \u201cJolene\u201d singer\u2019s childhood home is marked with a sign, though is not open to visitors. <span class=\"credit\">Cristopher Lapp<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The \u201c9 to 5\u201d singer did, however, make an exact replica of the cabin at her Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, for fans to visit. <span class=\"credit\">Christopher Oquendo<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The latest news on music icon Dolly Parton\u2019s death at 80<\/h2>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s hard to imagine a world without Dolly Parton in it,\u201d he reflected. \u201cShe was always doing new projects and generous with helping people, so it\u2019s going to be a tough thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Waters stressed that Parton\u2019s legacy will live on for generations \u2014 even after her death.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat she\u2019s accomplished won\u2019t end, her talent, we\u2019ll still be able to listen to her, and her generosity is gonna live on through the foundation that she had and she made sure of that,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s just the kind of person she was.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The cabin Parton grew up in had no electricity or running water. She shared the small home with her parents, Avie Lee Caroline and Robert Lee Parton, who were also parents to Willadeene, David, Coy, Bobby, Stella, Cassie, Randy, Larry, twins Floyd and Freida, and Rachel.<\/p>\n<p>Parton actually recreated the cabin at her Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, for fans to visit. The replica was built by her brother Bobby.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The replica was built by her brother Bobby. <span class=\"credit\">Christopher Oquendo for NY Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The country music icon (pictured here in 1987) grew up in the small home with no running water or electricity. <span class=\"credit\">Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Parton (pictured here in November 2019) died at the age of 80 after a brief battle with cancer. <span class=\"credit\">Jason Moore\/ZUMA \/ SplashNews.com<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThese mountains and my childhood home have a special place in my heart,\u201d a sign outside the replicated cabin reads. \u201cThey inspire my music and my life. I hope being here does the same for you! Dolly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Parton\u2019s nephew and longtime head of security, Bryan Seaver, also brought up the singer\u2019s humble upbringing while<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/08\/25\/celebrity-news\/read-dolly-partons-familys-emotional-message-on-her-death-in-full\/\"> announcing her death <\/a>earlier this week. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cDolly was a farmer just like her Daddy. He farmed the soil, she farmed songs and happiness,\u201d he said in the heartfelt video message, shared via Instagram.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDolly also opened doors for generations of singers, songwriters, musicians and dreamers from every walk of life, and across every continent. By her example, we believed that anything was possible. She never saw a door she couldn\u2019t open and the doors she opened made and changed history.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/08\/27\/celebrity-news\/vivacious-dolly-parton-never-lost-sight-of-her-modest-tennessee-upbringing-mayor-robert-fox-says\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dolly Parton has always stayed true to her humble roots \u2014 even after becoming a global icon with a net worth of millions. The \u201cJolene\u201d singer grew up in a one-bedroom cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains in Locust Ridge, just outside of Sevierville, Tennessee, with her parents and 11 siblings. Following her death at [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12207,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/08\/138706194.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[2753,645,4090,12791,396,5497,2421,3213,14984,10115,12792,2272,14983,14981,2096,14982],"class_list":["post-12206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrity","tag-celebrity-deaths","tag-celebrity-news","tag-dolly","tag-dolly-parton","tag-exclusive","tag-fox","tag-lost","tag-mayor","tag-modest","tag-music","tag-parton","tag-robert","tag-sight","tag-tennessee","tag-upbringing","tag-vivacious"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thehotedit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thehotedit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thehotedit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thehotedit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thehotedit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12206"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thehotedit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12206\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thehotedit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thehotedit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thehotedit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thehotedit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}