Dolly Parton Grants A Dying Fan’s Final Wish — Then Sings His Name Into “I Will Always Love You”

For LeGrand Gold, meeting Dolly Parton had always seemed like the kind of dream that might never come true. But as the Utah father of five faced stage 4 cancer and began working through a deeply personal bucket list, that dream suddenly became possible.

Then, just before Christmas, his phone rang.

On Friday, December 22, 2023, Dolly Parton personally called Gold, a lifelong fan who had been diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer in 2021. What began as a long-awaited conversation became an unexpectedly emotional moment when Parton not only spoke with him, but sang part of one of her most beloved songs especially for him.

Dolly Parton Makes A Christmas Call He Never Expected

Parton greeted Gold by the nickname “LG” and introduced herself affectionately as “Dolly P.”

During their conversation, she reflected on the connection they had formed despite never having met in person, telling him she was grateful to know how devoted a fan he had been throughout the years.

“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,” Parton told him.

She also spoke about how much it meant to her to know that her music and the things she had done had touched his life.

“I always want to make people happy with my music and with the things I do and the things I say,” she said. “So thank you for honoring me with that.”

For Gold, the call was far more than simply meeting one of his musical heroes. He told Parton that she had been “a huge help” during his cancer battle.

His wife, Alice, also joined the conversation and explained that their family had been longtime fans of Parton and had held season passes to Dollywood “forever.” But their admiration went beyond her music.

They loved Parton for “the person that you are,” Alice said, while also praising her Imagination Library and its work providing books to children in need.

Then Dolly Turned The Moment Into Something Even More Personal

The most touching moment came toward the end of the conversation.

After wishing Gold and his family a happy holiday season, Parton told him that she would “always love” him. Then she realized there was an obvious song she could use to express exactly what she meant.

“I should’ve sung that, shouldn’t I?” she said.

And she did.

Parton sang a snippet of her iconic song “I Will Always Love You,” changing the lyrics to include Gold’s name:

“I will always love LG.”

For a fan facing the final stages of an illness, the gesture left an extraordinary impression.

“She sang me a song, put my name in the song,” Gold later told KSL TV. “I feel like I’m immortal now.”

He described the call as “really cool” and said it “made me feel good.”

For his family, the significance was just as profound.

Alice told PEOPLE that they had been “flying above the silver lining for days” after Parton’s call. Of the 11 items on Gold’s bucket list, meeting Dolly had seemed like the one that was almost impossible.

But, as Alice put it, Parton had once again reminded them that dreams really can come true.

The Bucket List Behind The Call

Gold’s meeting with Parton was not a random wish. It was number seven on a personal list created as he confronted an increasingly difficult prognosis.

Last year, Alice helped him put together what they called “LG’s List of Living.” Ten of the items were initially written on a napkin, with additional goals making up the broader list.

Some dreams had already been completed, including a trip to Chicago with Alice and attending a Natalie Merchant concert.

Others remained ahead of him, including attending a March Madness game and taking a cruise to Alaska.

But meeting Dolly Parton was the wish that carried particular emotional weight.

A Race Against Time

Gold’s cancer journey had become increasingly difficult.

After his initial diagnosis, the disease spread to his lymph nodes and liver. In September, he was given a prognosis of less than six months to live because of liver failure.

Then, just three weeks before Parton’s call, his doctors delivered more devastating news. Scans showed that the cancer was continuing to spread beyond his liver.

“They said the chemo is not working anymore, the radiation is not working anymore,” Gold, a computer programmer and father of five, told KSL.

The doctors ultimately sent him home and told him to spend that time with his family.

Against that backdrop, completing the bucket list became about more than checking off experiences. It was about creating memories with the people he loved while there was still time.

And thanks to Dolly Parton, one of the biggest dreams on that list was no longer unfinished.

The Family Still Had More Dreams To Make Happen

Gold and his family continued working through the remaining items on his list.

One of their plans was especially meaningful for their daughters: a fake wedding scheduled for January, giving his four daughters the opportunity to share a father-daughter dance with their dad.

For Gold, the moments were no longer about how much time remained.

They were about making that time count.

And for one unforgettable Christmas-season phone call, a lifelong fan who had spent years admiring Dolly Parton from afar finally got to hear her voice directed personally to him — and even heard the words of “I Will Always Love You” transformed into a message meant only for LG.