Carl Dean, the longtime husband of country music icon Dolly Parton, passed away on Monday at the age of 82. Parton confirmed his death in an emotional post on X, reflecting on their nearly six decades together.
“Carl and I spent many wonderful years together. Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years,” Parton wrote.
Dean and Parton met in 1964 outside a laundromat in Nashville, Tennessee, on the day she moved to the city to pursue her music career. She was 18, and he was 21. They married in a private ceremony in 1966, attended only by Parton’s mother, the preacher, and his wife.
While Parton became one of the most celebrated figures in country music, Dean remained out of the spotlight, working as an asphalt paver and embracing a quiet life. Despite his wife’s fame, he rarely appeared in public with her, preferring the privacy of their home life.
“We like to get out in our little RV and just be simple,” Parton once told People magazine, emphasizing their love for a quiet, everyday life together.
Born in 1942 to Edgar “Ed” Henry Dean and Virginia “Ginny” Bates, Carl Dean is survived by his two siblings, Sandra and Donnie. He and Parton never had children but shared an enduring bond that lasted 58 years.
Parton has not announced funeral plans, but fans and fellow artists have expressed their condolences, celebrating the love story between the legendary singer and her devoted husband.
