Dolly Parton fulfills dying mega-fan’s final wish as she says ‘I will always love you’ in tear-jerking phone call after doctors told the father-of-five his stage-four cancer was incurable
- LeGrand Gold, an attorney from Orem, 40 miles south of Salt Lake City, was diagnosed with stage four colorectal cancer in 2021 and now has weeks to live
- Gold, who grew up in Tennessee, is a lifelong fan of Dolly Parton and wrote on his bucket list that he wanted to meet her.
- His wife Alice spread the word, and on December 22, the legendary singer called Gold, sent her best wishes and sang “I Will Always Love You.”
A Utah man's dying wish came true when Dolly Parton called and serenaded him with “I Will Always Love You.”
LeGrand Gold, a Tennessee-raised attorney and father of five, was diagnosed with stage four colorectal cancer in 2021.
Three weeks ago he was told that the treatment was not working.
“The scans showed the cancer had spread and gone beyond my liver, so they said the chemo isn't working anymore, the radiation isn't working anymore,” Gold said. talking to KSL TV in Salt Lake City, 40 miles north of his home in Orem.
“They just sent me home and told you to be with your family.”
Dolly Parton, 77, is pictured during the halftime show at the Red Kettle Kickoff on November 23 in Arlington, Texas. On December 22, she called a dying man to fulfill one of his last wishes
LeGrand Gold is seen in a photo posted to Facebook in December. Days later, Parton called him to send her best wishes
Gold had already written a bucket list — checking off things like visiting Chicago to see Natalie Merchant's concert, getting an RV and going on a road trip, and going to an NBA game in hopes of seeing Charles Barkley at a taping of ” Inside'. the NBA' for TNT.
Item seven on his list was “meet Dolly Parton.”
“I thought, 'Well, that's never going to happen,'” he said.
But Gold's wife Alice spread the word on social media and on December 22 the family received a phone call.
Parton told Alice, “Well, I'm just happy to know I have a devoted fan.”
Alice handed the phone to her husband, lying in his bed, and Parton said, “Hey LG, it's Dolly P.”
“I heard you've been a fan of mine for years and I wanted to thank you for that.”
The 77-year-old joked that she should have added Gold to her legal team and chatted with him about Christmas, saying she hoped it would be fun despite the circumstances.
Gold is seen with his 'List of Living' – with number seven, meeting Dolly Parton, crossed out
LeGrand Gold and his wife Alice Gold, who announced his dying wish
Gold is seen lying in bed as Parton serenades him on December 22
Alice told Parton that they raised their five children to get to know her, taking trips to Dollywood and reading books sent to them through Dolly's Imagination Library — a free book donation program.
Parton said she was thrilled to hear they were fans and sent her love.
“Just know that I will always love you,” she said, adding, “Wait, I should have sang that.”
She then sang to Gold, singing his name as he lay in bed, amazed by the moment.
“She sang me a song, put my name in the song,” Gold told KSL TV.
“I feel like I'm immortal now.”