Dolly Parton has sung for decades with her loyal husband Carl Dean by her side. The two met in the early 1960s and it was love at first sight. The two met on Dolly’s first day in Nashville, Tennessee in 1964 at the Wishy-Washy Laundromat. Dean said, ‘My first thought was ‘I’m gonna marry that girl. My second thought was, ‘Lord, she’s good-looking.’”Dolly had dated only a couple of men back in her hometown and was not quite sure yet about him. On her website, Dolly shared, “I was surprised and delighted that while he talked to me, he looked at my face, a rare thing for me. He seemed to be genuinely interested in finding out who I was and what I was about.” She took him to meet her family and then they went on their first date. Dean had to keep his commitment to the U.S. Army National Guard, so he completed his enlistment, which was for two years, in the stateside U.S. The two were engaged once he completed his assignment and they still had to keep the wedding on the down low because of Dolly’s record label. The label did not want her marriage to be public. They married on May 30, 1966, and it lasted nearly 60 years.
Dean supported Parton’s singing career in all its aspects. Parton’s 60-year career has included 49 studio albums, 100 million records sold worldwide, 25 singles reaching No. 1 on the Billboard country music charts, composing over 3,000 songs, an actress in top-level Hollywood films, and 11 Grammys from 50 nominations — just to name a few of her accomplishments. All through this time their marriage endured and was strengthened. Although his personal taste in music was more hard rock, he still supported Parton in her passion. He ran an asphalt paving company in Nashville while she traveled the world singing and entertaining. He kept out of the limelight, rarely walking on the red carpet or being seen out in public with Parton. Parton called him “romantic” as he did spontaneous things to surprise her and wrote her poems. Parton wrote songs for him, such as Jolene, Just Because I’m a Woman, From Here to the Moon and Back, Forever Love, Say Forever You’ll Be Mine and Tomorrow is Forever. He even showed up on the album cover for Parton’s My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy. When leaving their estate in Nashville, he would supposedly tell paparazzi that he was the “gardener.” Parton said, “Not everyone is lucky enough to be with someone for 50 years, but I have been. He has been the love of my life and the life of my love.” Their commitment included a renewal of their vows on May 6, 2016, for their 50th wedding anniversary.
Dean passed on Monday, March 3rd, 2025, at the age of 82. His funeral will be a private ceremony with the close family in attendance. We Are The Mighty provides our sincerest condolences to the Parton and Dean families.