When things are hardest, we always remember what brings us joy. So when LeGrand Gold, or LG, was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer, he was scared. The father of five didn’t know how to move forward. But his wife, Alice, had an idea. “He was going through a really kind of down phase of just over everything,” Alice said. “So [I] just got out the napkin and started saying, ‘What do you want to do?”
What do you want to do before you die?’”
The list was called LG’s List of Living, Alice said. It was written on a napkin with more than a dozen items, such as going on an RV trip or getting to see a Natalie Merchant concert. The one that seemed the most out of reach, the couple said, was meeting Dolly Parton.
LeGrand Gold’s bucket list included meeting singer Dolly Parton. Photo courtesy of the Golds
From that moment, he and Alice worked to complete his bucket list, with meeting Dolly Parton being a seemingly impossible dream until recently. But then Alice, in a post on social media, reached out in hopes of connecting with the country singer. And that post went viral.
And just a short time later, the family’s phone rang from an unfamiliar number. It was the “Jolene” singer, who was kind enough to help make his dream come true. Parton, in a video of the phone call, was her usual kind self. “I’m just happy to know that I’ve got a fan that devoted and that I’ve had a chance to watch that journey all these years,” she said.
“I’m just happy that we got to kind of have our journey together in this lifetime. I always want to make people happy with my music and with the things I do and the things I say and I’m just happy to know that I’ve touched your life in some way. So thank you for honoring me with that.”
As they began to end the call, Parton told LG that she “will always love” him, joking “I should’ve sung that, shouldn’t I?” Then she does just that, swapping her famous lyric with, “I will always love LG.” LG was starstruck. “She sang a song, put my name in the song. I feel like I’m immortal now,” LG said. “That was really cool. It made me feel good.”
We’ve been flying above the silver lining for days,” she said.
Alice said the call has meant everything to their family. “Out of the 11 items [on the list], we thought Dolly would be the impossible, but true to Dolly form, she once again reminds the world that dreams really do come true,” Alice said.
Dolly Parton. Getty Images
Sadly, LG was recently told that his cancer had spread to his lymph nodes and liver. He was given less than six months to live, according to a GoFundMe that is raising money to help his family. “About three weeks ago, the scan showed the cancer spreading and getting outside of my liver,” LG said. “And so they say the chemotherapy’s not working anymore, the radiation’s not working anymore. They just sent me home and said, ‘Be with your family.’”
But for now, Gold is still focusing on the unchecked items on his bucket list – building a man cave, attending a March Madness game, cruising to Alaska and riding an electric bike. More than anything, though, LG said he’ll never forget Parton’s serenade to him. “That might become my new No. 1 song,” he said, smiling. Watch below to hear the heartwarming moment between LG and his favorite singer.
Sources: People | Washington Post
