Fans and at least one friend of Dolly Parton turned out Saturday night at IU's Sample Gates to celebrate the iconic musician's life and career.
Attendees held candles and sang from Parton's vast body of work. Several people shared stories about the artist and the ways she impacted their lives.
Read more: IU anthropology professor reflects on Dolly Parton
Parton, 80, died last week after a short battle with cancer, according to family.
Randy Cowden, from Bloomington, worked with Parton and her husband Carl Dean. He said she was just as genuine in private as she publicly appeared.
"When you met her, she always treated a stranger just as well as the person that she knew," Cowden said after the vigil.
Cowden said he first met Dean while working for the Nashville-based company operating the Gaylord Opryland at the time. Dean died in 2025.
“He had retired, but then about a year later his health started declining. I got to see them both then, and I saw her once since," Cowden said. “It’s heartbreaking to see them go. They was good people. They never met a stranger.”
Parton was laid to rest Friday alongside Dean at a cemetery in Nashville.
