Dolly Parton is coping with the death of her husband, Carl Dean.
“This is a love note to family, friends and fans. Thank you or all the messages, cards and flowers that you’ve sent to pay your respects for the loss of my beloved husband Carl,” Parton, 79, shared in an Instagram statement on Thursday, March 6. “I can’t reach out personally to each of you but just know it has meant the world to me. He is in God’s arms now and I am OK with that. I will always love you.”
The social media post comes days after Parton announced on Monday, March 3, that Dean had died at age 82 in Nashville. The family has asked for privacy as they navigate this “difficult time.”
“Carl and I spent many wonderful years together,” she announced via Instagram at the time. “Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy.”
A cause of death has not been revealed, but the statement declared that Dean would be “laid to rest in a private ceremony.” He is survived by Parton and his two siblings, Sandra and Donnie. (The Associated Press was the first to report the news.)
Parton married Dean in 1966, two years after they met outside the Wishy Washy Laundromat on the same day she moved to Nashville to begin her music career.
Throughout her years as a country star, Parton wrote several songs about Dean, including “Tomorrow is Forever.” The song was originally released in 1970 for a duet album with Porter Wagoner. She rerecorded the song in 2016 for her Pure & Simple album, focused primarily on love songs.
Parton also explained why she and Dean were “the perfect partners” during an exclusive interview with Luxury Handbag Shopping in January 2022.
“We both have a great sense of humor,” she said. “We’re able to solve any problem and any situation, making a joke about it and not letting it get too heavy, but we respect each other and we like each other. We lucked up, let’s put it that way.”
The singer added, “You know, most people can keep a marriage [going strong] if you make a little effort. Some people just get slouching and lazy and about stuff that ain’t important, like leaving the toilet seat up. And if that’s the worst thing you’ve to worry about, you’re already in trouble.”
