American flags across Oregon will remain at half staff through sunset September 1 as the state joins a nationwide observance honoring Dolly Parton, whose death at age 80 prompted a presidential proclamation and a corresponding order from Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek.
American flags at federal and state government buildings across Oregon are being lowered to half staff following the death of Dolly Parton, as Oregon joins a national observance ordered Tuesday by President Donald Trump honoring the 80 year old entertainer, songwriter, businesswoman and philanthropist.
Trump issued a presidential proclamation August 25 directing flags to half staff at the White House and all federal public buildings and grounds throughout the United States. The order also applies to military posts, naval stations and federal naval vessels, as well as American embassies, consular offices, military facilities and other federal properties overseas.
The national observance will continue through sunset Tuesday, September 1.
Gov. Tina Kotek directed Oregon state offices and public institutions to lower their flags for the same period, bringing state government facilities into the weeklong tribute. Federal facilities in Oregon fall under the presidential proclamation, while the governor’s directive applies to state properties covered by the Oregon order.
The action will make the national tribute visible throughout Oregon as flags remain lowered at government facilities during the mourning period. Private businesses, organizations and residents are not required to lower flags on privately owned property, although they may voluntarily participate and follow the same September 1 timetable.
The White House proclamation follows Parton’s death Tuesday after a career that made her one of the longest serving and most widely recognized figures in American entertainment.
Born January 19, 1946, in Sevier County, Tennessee, Parton emerged from the country music industry during the 1960s and built a career spanning more than six decades. She became a recording artist and songwriter whose work crossed from country music into mainstream popular culture, while her career expanded into film, television, publishing and business.
Her national profile eventually reached well beyond entertainment. Parton’s philanthropic work included the Imagination Library, the childhood literacy program she founded in Tennessee in 1995 to provide books directly to young children. The program expanded across the United States and internationally.
Oregon developed its own substantial connection with that work. In June, the state formally established the Oregon Imagination Library Program in law. More than 75,000 Oregon children were participating at the time, with the program reaching every ZIP code in the state. Children from birth through age five can receive a book each month at no cost to their families.
That program will continue operating independently of this week’s flag observance, but its presence throughout Oregon gives the state a direct connection to one of Parton’s largest philanthropic projects.
Tennessee, where Parton was born and spent much of her life and career, also ordered flags lowered at the state Capitol and state office buildings in accordance with the national observance.
The White House order extends considerably farther. From federal offices in Oregon to military installations around the country and American diplomatic facilities overseas, the same presidential proclamation establishes a single period of recognition ending at sunset September 1.
For Oregon businesses and residents, participation on private property remains voluntary. Those choosing to join the national tribute may lower their American flags through the conclusion of the federal observance. Government facilities covered by the federal and Oregon directives will follow their respective orders.
Flags will return to full staff following the conclusion of the mourning period.
The nationwide lowering of flags places Parton’s death within one of the federal government’s formal traditions for recognizing prominent Americans. In Oregon, the observance will remain visible through September 1 at federal and state facilities across the state, marking the death of a Tennessee songwriter whose six decade career and philanthropic work ultimately reached communities throughout Oregon and across the country.