NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Grief over the death of Dolly Parton is being etched into skin at a Hermitage tattoo shop, where fans are turning heartbreak into permanent tributes.
At Lone Wolf Tattoo, artist Jason Ponce spends his days putting stories in ink — grief, love, legends and the people no one wants to forget.
"My favorite that I've done is Jesus," Ponce said.
The tattoos that stay with him most are the ones that carry deeper meaning.
"That just means the world to that person. And nobody else would ever have a clue," Ponce said.
After Parton died Tuesday at age 80, Ponce posted that he would be doing Dolly tribute tattoos. At first, the idea didn't sit right with him.
"And then I started getting messages. Are you doing any Dolly tattoos? And I saw posts. And so, then I realized that people wanted them," Ponce said.
One of those messages came from Alison Kovrig. For her, this wasn't fan art — it was family history written in ink.
"I've always just admired her resilience; she was always unapologetically herself," Kovrig said.
Kovrig's connection to Parton runs deep. Her mother, Colene Walters, performed alongside Porter Wagoner in the 1990s — the man who first gave Parton her stage.
"I started in 1994 and then went with, worked with them for about five years or so. And then I went with Johnny Russell, and then I went back to the Porter Wagner show early 2000s," Walters said.
Years after Parton left Porter's show, Walters stepped into her role — singing Parton's parts at the Grand Ole Opry and on the road.
Now, Kovrig is carrying that connection permanently.
"It's just that constant reminder to be a good person. Honestly, she was such a good person. She's such a kind person," Kovrig said.
Ponce said requests for Dolly tattoos have poured in ever since he posted the designs online — proof, he said, that every generation found its own connection to Dolly Parton.
This story was reported on-air by journalist Kelsey Gibbs and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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