Carl Dean, the husband of country music legend Dolly Parton, dies aged 82. The couple had been married for nearly 60 years.
According to a statement issued by Parton, Dean died Monday in Nashville, Tennessee, as per the Associated Press.
The cause of death remains unknown.
The news was also shared on Dolly’s Instagram account. “Carl Dean, husband of Dolly Parton, passed away March 3rd in Nashville at the age of 82. He will be laid to rest in a private ceremony with immediate family attending. He was survived by his siblings Sandra and Donnie,” the story said.
“Carl and I spent many wonderful years together. Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy,” the heartfelt message continued.
“The family has asked for privacy during this difficult time,” the post concluded.
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Dolly Parton wrote about Carl Dean in her book and described him as a romantic person.
She even recalled how he hugged her so tight when she went to visit him at the army base in Georgia back in the day that her wig fell off. “He squeezed, hugged and kissed me so hard that he knocked my wig off,” the singer revealed.
They met back in 1964 outside the Wishy Washy Laundromat in Nashville, Tennessee. At the time, Dolly was 18 years of age, and Carl was 21.
“My first thought was, ‘I’m gonna marry that girl,’” Dean said in a statement of the moment he first laid eyes on Dolly, as quoted by Entertainment Tonight.
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“My second thought was, ‘Lord she’s good lookin’.’ And that was the day my life began. I wouldn’t trade the last 50 years for nothing on this earth.”
At the time they tied the knot, Dolly was starting her career and her record label believed she should put the decision to marry on hold, but she refused. She and Dean married in an intimate ceremony in Ringgold, Georgia to avoid the local press in Tennessee to write about them.
It was the start of a love story that never ended.
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