Carl Dean, the devoted husband of country music icon Dolly Parton, has passed away at the age of 82. According to a statement from Parton’s publicist, Dean died Monday in Nashville, Tennessee. The family has requested privacy during this difficult time, and no cause of death has been disclosed.
A private funeral service will be held for Dean’s immediate family.
Dolly Parton shared a heartfelt message following her husband’s passing. The couple’s love story began in 1964 when Parton was just 18 years old and had moved to Nashville to pursue her music career. They met outside the Wishy Washy Laundromat, where Dean made a lasting impression on the young singer.
“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,” she said in a statement.
“I was surprised and delighted that while he talked to me, he looked at my face (a rare thing for me),” Parton once recalled. “He seemed to be genuinely interested in finding out who I was and what I was about.”
Two years later, on May 30, 1966, they were married in a quiet ceremony in Ringgold, Georgia.
While Parton became a household name, Dean preferred to stay out of the public eye. A successful businessman, he owned an asphalt-paving company in Nashville and remained a private figure throughout their nearly six decades of marriage.
Born to Virginia “Ginny” Bates Dean and Edgar “Ed” Henry Dean, Carl was one of three children. Parton frequently spoke warmly about his mother, referring to her as “Mama Dean.”
Dean is survived by his wife, Dolly Parton, and his two siblings, Sandra and Donnie.
