{"id":8693,"date":"2025-03-10T21:00:12","date_gmt":"2025-03-10T21:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/strongermarriages\/?p=8693"},"modified":"2025-03-10T21:00:12","modified_gmt":"2025-03-10T21:00:12","slug":"dolly-parton-pays-tribute-to-deceased-husband-in-gods-arms-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/strongermarriages\/2025\/03\/dolly-parton-pays-tribute-to-deceased-husband-in-gods-arms-now.html","title":{"rendered":"Dolly Parton Pays Tribute to Deceased Husband: \u2018In God\u2019s arms now\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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@dollyparton \/ Instagram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dolly Parton has continued to publicly mourn the death of her husband, who passed away at the age of 82 on March 3. Carl Dean and Parton had been married for 58 years when her socials announced his passing. \u201cCarl 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,\u201d the statement said. Parton included a personal note as well. \u201cCarl and I spent many wonderful ears together. Words can\u2019t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n

Parton shared a \u201clove note\u201d to thank the public for their support. \u201cThis is a love note to family, friends, and fans. Thank you for all the messages, cards, and flowers that you’ve sent to pay your respects for the loss of my beloved husband Carl,\u201d wrote Parton<\/a>. \u201cI 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 okay with that. I will always love you.\u201d<\/p>\n

She later shared another tribute to Dean on her Instagram. \u201cI fell in love with Carl Dean when I was 18 years old,\u201d she wrote. \u201cWe have spent 60 precious and meaningful years together. Like all great love stories, they never end. They live on in memory and song. He will always be the star of my life story, and I dedicate this song to him.\u201d Parton released the song \u201cIf You Hadn\u2019t Been There\u201d to honor her deceased husband.<\/p>\n

Parton met her husband the first day she moved to Nashville at a laundromat. Dean pulled over while she was walking around and struck up a conversation. \u201cAnd 50 years later, we’re still talking,\u201d Parton said in a 2014 interview. Despite being told that being married so young at the start of her career was a bad idea, Parton eloped with Dean in a ceremony only attended by her mother. Parton\u2019s popular song \u201cJolene,\u201d was inspired by an incident involving Dean and a banker that was a little too flirtatious with him.<\/p>\n

Despite Parton\u2019s celebrity status, the couple had a fairly private relationship, with Dean mainly keeping out of the spotlight during their decades-long marriage. Parton, however, has spoken of her husband in the past and their love of doing things together such as traveling in their RV. The exact details of Dean\u2019s passing were not shared and the family has asked for privacy during this time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dolly Parton has continued to publicly mourn the death of her husband, who passed away at the age of 82 on March 3. Carl Dean and Parton had been married for 58 years when her socials announced his passing. \u201cCarl Dean, husband of Dolly Parton, passed away March 3rd in Nashville at the age of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":8696,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nDolly Parton Pays Tribute to Deceased Husband: \u2018In God\u2019s arms now\u2019<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dolly Parton mourns the loss of her beloved husband, Carl Dean, honoring their 58-year love story with heartfelt tributes.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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