Recently when she was forced to cancel her residency in Las Vegas, she said that she had some heath issues that she had to take care. With her usual humor Dolly joked about it

"And don't worry about me quittin' the business because God hasn't said anything about stopping yet” said Dolly in an interview,”. But I believe He is telling me to slow down right now so I can be ready for more big adventures with all of you. That's the only thing that worries me, that I may run out of time before I see so many of my dreams come true. I wake up with new dreams all the time. But I put them in a place where they can continue, even after I'm gone."

That made me wonder. What did she not do yet? She sold over 160 million albums. She started in two hit movies “9 to 5” and “Steel Magnolias”, She wrote the score for a Broadway adaptation in 2005 , then recently was the subject of a Broadway musical Dolly that she wrote the music for and was scheduled to open by the end of this year. She even built her dream “Dollywood”.

Musically, she not only wrote many hit songs but also collaborated with everyone from Miss Piggy to Beyoncé to Linda Ronstadt and even hard rockers Mötley Crüe. When Dolly was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, she initially declined the honor, saying she was not a rock star. She later changed her mind, saying she would make a rock album—and she did, with help from many rock stars who were eager to work with her.

As if she wasn’t busy enough, Dolly gave back in so many ways. Of the many of her philanthropy venues, was her favorite, the imagination library for children. The library mailed one book a month to needy children. The inspiration came from her father who never learned to read or write.

Despite all the stories in the tabloids, she remained loyal to her husband Carl Dean. He chose to stay out of the spotlight but was her biggest inspiration. They were married when she was just 18 and remain married until he died last year. She said it was heartbroken and probably never recovered.

"Ours is a great old love story. Most people don't stay that close that long," Parton said about her long-time husband. "That's a loss. Nobody can ever know that unless you've experienced it yourself. He will always be in my heart”

Now her adoring public will have to deal with a huge loss. There may never be another person just like Dolly Parton.