Certain deaths have a way of rocking one’s world. I didn’t know Dolly Parton or Gloria Steinem. Never met them. Was never in the same room with either one.

Yet, now that they are gone it feels like they were part of my life in ways I had not previously acknowledged.

Clearly, Parton’s voice echoed through whatever speakers I was listening to her songs with. Her presence was felt in my living room and theaters through her movies.

Steinem’s words are still in my home with her books and online in so many formats.

To think these two formidable women died days apart—Parton on Aug. 25 at the age 80 and Steinem on Sept. 2 at the age of 92—leaves me a bit speechless and definitely sad.

They changed the world in similar ways, albeit with different approaches. Parton seemed to cross all the aisles, while Steinem could be polarizing.

Both lived lives worth emulating. They were good people. They stood up for things I think we should all believe in and fight for. They left the world better than they found it.

The world needs more Dollys and Glorias.