Novice Sister Hagatha Bundy—a member of Chicago’s Second City Sisters Abbey of the Irreverent Bean—grew up in the South. As such, Dolly Parton was a constant, almost ethereal presence in her household.
“My mom loved Dolly, so Dolly was very much part of our childhood,” Novice Sr. Hagatha told Windy City Times Aug. 31. “My mom kept telling us how Dolly would say, ‘It takes so much money to look this cheap.’ My mom would [also] say that no matter how you looked, Dolly would love what you looked like.”
Second City Sisters held a candlelight vigil for Parton that evening at the Dolly Parton mural adjacent to the Lytle House events space at 5517 N. Broadway. The mural has been a destination for local Parton fans since her death Aug. 25. The previous day, members of the CUSS running club organized a run along filming locations for Parton’s 1992 romantic comedy Straight Talk that ended at the mural.
About 40 Chicagoans braved the balmy evening heat for the Aug. 31 event, which featured participation from several of the Second City Sisters. Their organization was formed “to promulgate universal joy and expiate stigmatic guilt throughout the North, South and West Sides of Chicago and surrounding communities,” through both camp and satire as well as community service.
“She did so many good works and was important to many of us,” said Sister Mercy B’Luv of Parton, in remarks opening the vigil. She called Parton “a visionary” and “a courageous person willing to have an unpopular belief. She gave not only of her time, but also her resources—and she always had a nurturing spirit.”
Second City Sisters is part of an international network of organizations inspired by the San Francisco-based Sisters of Perpetual indulgence. On the day of her death, Parton was canonized by the San Francisco Sisters as “Saint Authenticity the Utmost, Exemplary Artist, Humble Humanitarian, and Patron Saint of Relentless Glamor.”
Throughout the Edgewater vigil, members of the Second City Sisters drew numerous correlations between Parton’s spirit and both the overarching principles that guide their organization and lived experiences of many people in the LGBTQ+ community.
In a eulogy for Parton, Sister Bernadette Peter-Eater recalled going home from work after learning of the performer’s death. She said, “Standing under the skyscrapers of Chicago, while waiting for the 156 [bus], while on the phone with my mama, I realized: Dolly means ‘home.’ This type of ‘home’ transcends land and buildings. It’s an experience. Dolly engulfs us, with feelings of safety, love and belonging. It’s a universal comfort.”
Sr. Bernadette later added that Parton “taught me that I could create a home in myself. She unabashedly showed up with her Tennessee roots, with compassion and kindness, an exemplary image of integration. She knew all parts of herself to be true and worthy of love.”
Sr. Bernadette further invited the audience “to expand this. Dolly’s legacy is not finished, and we, in part, choose to help continue it. So, I invite you to see yourself as worthy of safety, love and belonging. I invite you to see your neighbor as worthy of safety, love and belonging.”
Participants spoke at length about Parton’s support for the LGBTQ+ community. Sr. Mercy said that Parton “shared unwavering love for [the community], and to us, she was a very vocal advocate of human rights and equal rights.”
In 2011, Parton told Windy City Times, “We have fun with my gay crowds and we always have them. … I have always loved my gay fans. They accept me and I accept them. We get along just fine. I am very proud and honored when they dress up like me or whatever they want to do.”
Sister Hooda Thunkett reflected on why so many around the world were emotionally moved by Parton’s passing.
“Dolly was a great connector, of people thoughts and beliefs—and knew how to do it all with a smile, a sparkle and a laugh,” Sr. Hooda said. “…What I’m being left with, and with so many people sharing the memories of her and what they’ve learned from her, is that we’re really trying to take on the lessons that she taught us and do it ourselves now. It’s not just on her, it’s on all of us to continue to share that sparkle, love and fabulousness that she brought to every day.”
The vigil ended with the entire group singing along to Parton’s classic ballad, “I Will Always Love you.”
