Dolly Parton loved her Tennessee county so much that her foundation cut its dropout rate to 6%

Dolly Parton didn’t just sing lovingly about her Tennessee mountain home.

She spent her life elevating an often-overlooked region to showcase what long inspired her music and sparked a tourism boom that forever changed those living against the backdrop of the Great Smoky Mountains.

And it is because of that deep devotion that Parton’s death has been profoundly personal to rural Sevier County.

To the world, Parton was one of the world’s best-known country music stars.

To her neighbors, she was Tennessee’s favorite daughter.

“It hit me hard.

It hit me really hard,” said James Gambrell, a former chef at Dollywood, the signature theme park that Parton opened decades ago after seeing families like hers unable to afford to go to Disneyland.

“If it don’t affect you, then something’s wrong,” Gambrell said of Parton’s death, adding that he became so close to her family that they adopted him as a kind of nephew.

Mourners flocked to a bronze statue of Dolly in the center of her hometown of Sevierville Tuesday night, exchanging stories and shedding tears.

The town is set in the hills of the Smoky Mountains just minutes from Dollywood.

Many brought flowers and drawings and other tributes to the late singer.

By Wednesday morning at Dollywood, the scent of cinnamon bread filled the air and long lines formed at a theater featuring biographical stories narrated by Parton.

The park is closed Tuesdays, so Wednesday was the first chance for many to visit, including Carla Potts, who flew in from Seattle a few days earlier.

“She just consistently spread joy and hope and light, really” Potts said after entering the park on her first visit.