When Pearl Monroe “Roe Roe” Tucker was battling leukemia as a young child, Dolly Parton’s voice became a source of comfort during some of her hardest moments. Years later, after completing more than two years of treatment, Pearl Monroe met Parton in person, twice, and was able to tell her how much her music and kindness had meant to her.Pearl Monroe was three years old when her parents, Chad and Meredith Tucker, first noticed something was wrong in the fall of 2019.She began complaining about unexplained pain in her legs and joints. At first, her parents from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, thought it could be something relatively simple, perhaps a sinus infection or an injury.But the symptoms became increasingly severe.On November 19, 2019, Meredith’s birthday, Pearl Monroe stopped walking because the pain in her legs had become unbearable. Her parents pushed for bloodwork, and the results immediately raised concerns.Pearl Monroe’s white blood cell count was “out the roof,” Chad recalled while speaking to PEOPLE.The diagnosis soon followed: leukemia.
A childhood spent in treatment
Dolly Parton’s songs helped Pearl Monroe cope with the emotional and physical challenges of her leukemia treatment. (Photo: Chad Tucker)
At the time, Chad was at work preparing to anchor the 4 p.m. news. Just before the broadcast, around 3:45 p.m., he received the call from the doctor.He had only minutes to get home and tell Meredith, who was 22 weeks pregnant.The family then headed to a children’s hospital, where Pearl Monroe’s diagnosis was confirmed and treatment began.For the next 858 days, chemotherapy, steroids and hospital visits dominated her life.Much of her treatment took place during the pandemic, making an already difficult experience even more isolating. Pearl Monroe could not attend school, spend time with friends or enjoy many of the everyday experiences other children took for granted.The steroids brought their own challenges. Her family described episodes of intense emotional distress as “roid rage,” during which Pearl Monroe would scream and say she wanted to “come out of her skin.”Her parents searched for small ways to help her cope.One of those comforts came from Dolly Parton.
Dolly Parton’s songs became her comfort
Pearl Monroe was enrolled in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. (Photo: Chad Tucker)
A bath accompanied by Parton’s music could help Pearl Monroe settle down during difficult moments.Songs such as “9 to 5,” “Jolene” and “Love Is Like a Butterfly” became familiar parts of her routine.“Dolly’s music was an amazing healer,” Chad said.The songs gave Pearl Monroe something familiar to return to when so much of her life was unpredictable.Parton’s connection with the young girl also extended to books.Pearl Monroe was enrolled in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which sends books to children by mail. During treatment, those monthly deliveries became especially meaningful.“She couldn’t go to school. She couldn’t be around her friends. She couldn’t do a lot of things,” Chad said. “But she could still get those books.”
Pearl Monroe rings the bell
After 858 days of treatment, Pearl Monroe finally reached the milestone her family had been hoping for.She took her final pill at home on January 30, 2022.Two months later, on her sixth birthday, she rang the bell celebrating the end of her treatment.The experience had changed her childhood, but the connection she had developed with Dolly Parton was only beginning to take on another meaning.
A sign leads to an unforgettable meeting
Pearl Monroe met Dolly Parton at Dollywood years after her music helped her through childhood cancer. (Photo: Chad Tucker)
In March 2024, the Tucker family visited Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, during opening weekend.Pearl Monroe had prepared a handwritten message for Parton.It read: “Dolly, your music helped me beat cancer.”When Parton saw the sign, she stopped.“She stopped and said, ‘Are you all better now?’” Chad recalled.Pearl Monroe told her she was.Parton hugged the young girl and expressed how happy she was to hear that she was doing well.For Pearl Monroe, the moment was particularly special because the woman whose music had accompanied her through treatment was suddenly standing in front of her.
Their second meeting was just as personal
Now a childhood cancer survivor, Pearl Monroe volunteers and raises money to support children battling cancer. (Photo: Chad Tucker)
The following year, the family returned to the same hotel during Dollywood’s opening weekend.Parton’s team remembered Pearl Monroe and invited the family to see her again.Parton asked which child had battled cancer. When the family told her it was Pearl Monroe, she immediately connected the young girl with the story she had heard before.The interaction left a lasting impression on Chad.“She was a global icon, but she made you feel like she was in my granny’s kitchen serving cornbread and pinto beans,” he said. “I just felt calm and loved around her.”The family also had an opportunity to thank Parton for her work helping children. Chad spoke to her about “Chemo Hero,” a song she created for children with cancer.Parton shared that her niece had battled leukemia as a child and survived, giving the singer another personal connection to Pearl Monroe’s journey.
Pearl Monroe turned her experience into a mission
For the Tucker family, Parton’s influence was ultimately about more than music.“She taught us that heart matters,” Chad said.He explained that Parton showed Pearl Monroe how important it is to care for others and use whatever resources you have to make a difference.“We don’t let our kids idolize people,” Chad said. “But we do let them look up to Dolly Parton.”Pearl Monroe has since tried to follow that example.She now volunteers and raises money for childhood cancer causes. Her experience also helped inspire her family’s “Hero Library,” which provides books to children undergoing cancer treatment.In that way, the comfort she once received through Parton’s books has become something Pearl Monroe can now help pass on to other children.
‘She left us so much’
Pearl Monroe felt Dolly Parton’s loss deeply, remembering the star who brought her comfort during her leukemia battle. (Photo: Chad Tucker)
When Pearl Monroe learned on August 25 that Dolly Parton had died, the loss was deeply personal.Her parents gathered their children after school and shared the news. While their oldest child was immediately upset, Pearl Monroe was quieter.Then she said something that stayed with her father.“Well, I don’t really feel like she’s gone because she left us so much,” Chad recalled her saying.For a child who once found comfort in Parton’s songs while fighting cancer, those words reflected the lasting impact the singer had made on her life.Chad believes that is ultimately the kind of legacy Parton leaves behind.“I think that’s everybody’s goal,” he said. “To live a life that gives so much and leaves so much behind to help other people that when you’re gone, people still feel you in their hearts.”
