Carl Dean and Dolly Parton.
Credit: Archive photos.
Country music legend Dolly Parton is in mourning after her husband of more than 60 years, Carl Dean, passed away on Monday, March 3. He was 82.
Dean, 82, passed away at their home in Nashville, leaving Parton to mourn the loss of the man she often described as ‘her rock’. The couple’s enduring, private love story, which spanned decades since their 1966 wedding, ended abruptly, leaving Parton to grieve.
Parton, 79, said on Instagram, ‘Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy.’
Dean, a retired businessman, met Parton in 1964 outside a Nashville laundromat when she was 18, striking an instant connection. They married two years later in Ringgold, Georgia, building a private life well away from Parton’s global spotlight.
Parton said, ‘He loves me for who I am, not the stage’
Known for his reclusive nature, Dean supported his wife’s career quietly, shying away from all the publicity and celebrity. Parton once said in a Rolling Stone interview, ‘He loves me for who I am, not the stage.’ The hit ‘Jolene’ is said to have been inspired by Dean after a lighthearted moment of jealousy.
In 2016 Dean gave a rare statement to Entertainment Tonight commemorating the couple’s 50th wedding anniversary. Reflecting on the moment he first met Dolly, he said, ‘I’m gonna marry that girl.’
The couple had no children. Dean is survived by Parton and his two siblings, Sandra and Donnie.
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