This has been a big year for Dolly Parton , RadarOnline.com can reveal. Her beloved theme park, Dollywood , turned 40. Her Imagination Library, which provides free books to kids around the world to support early literacy, turned 30. Dolly: A True Original Musical officially premiered in Nashville on Aug. 8. And she's preparing for her first Las Vegas residency, Dolly: Live in Vegas , in December.

"I live on spiritual and creative energy. I want to make things happen," she said of what keeps her motivated. "I believe that I would be sinning if I didn't make the most of everything I feel God has given me to work with."

But in the midst of all of her milestones, she's been privately dealing with the biggest one of all: the loss of her husband of nearly 60 years, Carl Dean

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