Dolly Parton’s Husband Carl Dean Dies At 82

Carl Dean, Dolly Parton’s husband of nearly 60 years who avoided the spotlight and inspired her timeless hit “Jolene,” died Monday. He was 82.

According to a statement provided to The Associated Press, Dean died in Nashville, Tennessee. He will be laid to rest in a private ceremony with immediate family attending.

“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,” Parton wrote on Instagram.

Parton met Dean outside the Wishy Washy Laundromat the day she moved to Nashville at 18. Parton and Dean kept strict privacy around their relationship for decades, Parton even joking with The Associated Press in 1984: “A lot of people say there’s no Carl Dean, that he’s just somebody I made up to keep other people off me.”

The family has asked for respect and privacy. No cause of death was announced.