The United States and Hawaiʻi state flags are ordered to be flown at half-staff at all state offices, agencies, and the Hawaiʻi National Guard until next Tuesday.
At the direction of the president, Gov. Josh Green ordered the flags to be lowered immediately and remain at half-staff until sunset on Tuesday, Sept. 1, in honor of the passing of Dolly Parton.
Parton died at age 80 on Tuesday, Aug. 25. Across a career spanning seven decades, she became one of America’s most celebrated singers, songwriters, actors, business leaders, and philanthropists.
“Though her roots were in Tennessee, she built a real and lasting connection with Hawaiʻi,” Green said. “She made a home on Oʻahu, celebrated our artists and culture, helped put books into the hands of our keiki, and used her voice to support Maui families after the wildfires.”
Parton’s connection to Hawaiʻi spanned more than four decades. She owned a home in Portlock, performed for audiences on Oʻahu, and filmed a 1988 episode of her ABC variety series, “Dolly,” in Hawaiʻi.
Titled “My Hawaiʻi,” the episode featured prominent local entertainers, including Palani Vaughan, Melveen Leed, the Brothers Cazimero, Danny Kaleikini, Al Harrington, and Danny Couch. It concluded at Waimea Falls Park with Parton and the Honolulu Boys Choir performing “How Great Thou Art.”
Her legacy also reached Hawaiʻi’s keiki when Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library launched in Hawaiʻi in 2005. The program provided free, age-appropriate books to young children in selected communities, and the work continues locally through affiliate programs, including ʻOhana Readers.
Parton’s Imagination Library has distributed more than 300 million free books to children around the world.
Following the 2023 Maui wildfires, Parton joined Felix Cavaliere of The Rascals to record a new version of “My Hawaiʻi.” Released in 2024, the song directed all proceeds to Maui United Way’s Maui Fire Disaster Relief Fund to support people affected by the fires in Lāhainā and Kula.
“Dolly Parton gave the world hope, laughter, and the courage to dream bigger,” Green said. “Jaime and I join people across Hawaiʻi and the world in mourning an incredible American artist and extraordinarily generous human being. Her voice will endure, but so will the good she set in motion.”
President Donald Trump’s proclamation is available here.
