- LeGrand Gold, a lawyer 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, has been 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, sending her best wishes and singing ‘I Will Always Love You’
A Utah man’s dying wish was realized when Dolly Parton called on the phone and serenaded him with ‘I Will Always Love You’.
LeGrand Gold, a Tennessee-raised lawyer 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 spreading and getting outside of my liver, and so they said the chemo is not working anymore, the radiation is not working anymore,’ said Gold, speaking to KSL TV in Salt Lake City, 40 miles north of his Orem home.
‘They just sent me home and said be with your family.’
Dolly Parton, 77, is pictured performing during the halftime show at the Red Kettle Kickoff on November 23 in Arlington, Texas. On December 22 she phoned a dying man to fulfill one of his final wishes
LeGrand Gold is seen in a photo posted to Facebook in December. Days later, Parton would call him to send her best wishes
Gold had already written a bucket list – crossing off things such as visiting Chicago to see Natalie Merchant in concert, getting an RV and going on a road trip, and going to an NBA game in hopes of seeing Charles Barkley during a taping of ‘Inside the NBA’ for TNT.
Item seven on his list was ‘meet Dolly Parton’.
‘I thought, ‘Well, it’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 fan that devoted.’
Alice handed the phone over to her husband, lying in his bed, and Parton said: ‘Hey LG, it’s Dolly P.
‘I’ve heard you’ve been a fan of mine for many years, and I just wanted to thank you for that.’
The 77-year-old joked that she should have added Gold to her legal team, and chatted to him about Christmas, saying she hoped it could be enjoyable, despite the circumstances.
Gold is seen with his ‘List of Living’ – with number seven, meeting Dolly Parton, crossed off
LeGrand Gold and his wife Alice Gold, who spread the word about his dying wish
Gold is seen lying in bed as Parton serenades him on December 22
Alice told Parton they had raised their five kids to know her, taking trips to Dollywood and reading them books sent through Dolly’s Imagination Library – a free book gifting program.
Parton said she was thrilled to hear they were fans, and sent them her love.
‘Just know that I will always love you,’ she said, then adding: ‘Wait – I should have sung that.’
She then sang to Gold, singing his name as he lay in bed, astonished 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.’