Carl Dean, Dolly Parton's husband of nearly 60 years who inspired 'Jolene,' dies at 8

[Matt Dillon]

Carl Dean, Dolly Parton's devoted 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 by Parton's publicist, 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 in a statement.

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

Parton met Dean outside the Wishy Washy Laundromat the day she moved to Nashville at 18.

“I was surprised and delighted that while he talked to me, he looked at my face (a rare thing for me)," Parton described the meeting. "He seemed to be genuinely interested in finding out who I was and what I was about.”

They married two years later, on Memorial Day — May 30, 1966 — in a small ceremony in Ringgold, Georgia.

Dean was a businessman, having owned an asphalt-paving business in Nashville. His parents, Virginia “Ginny” Bates Dean and Edgar “Ed” Henry Dean, had three children. Parton referred to his mother as “Mama Dean.”

Carl Dean, Dolly Parton's husband of nearly 60 years who inspired 'Jolene,' dies at 82​

[Matt Dillon]

I always thought they had an interesting and unconventional marriage. I'm an old-fashioned guy and I could not have handled her being gone so much and the talk about her and men like Burt Reynolds and Kenny Rogers.

[CATHYnKY]

sad for her

[TrueblueCATfan]

Aww...I'm sad for Dolly.....prayers for her and the family

[capcat]

Prayers for Dolly. As busy and independent as she is, that’s a tough loss.

[surveyor]

Like Matt, I was always intrigued about their relationship - although I think the talk about her and costars and men she sang with was just that - talk.

I always wondered how much quality time they spent together - and how they defined that. From the outside looking in - time flew by fast from the early 70s to now.