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Parton’s statement comes just days after she announced that Carl died at the age of 82.
Dolly Parton is thanking her fans and followers for their outpouring of love and support following the death of Parton’s longtime husband, Carl Thomas Dean.
In a statement shared to Instagram Thursday, Parton wrote, “This is a love note family, friends and fans. Thank you for all the messages, cards, and flowers you’ve sent to pay your respects for the loss of my beloved husband Carl.”
The “9 to 5” singer continued, “I can’t reach out personally to each one of you but just know it has meant the world to me.”
Parton also shared that while she’s devastated by Carl’s passing, “He is in God’s arms now and I am okay with that.”
“I will always love you,” she added, bringing the statement to a close.
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Parton’s statement comes just days after she announced that her Carl died at the age of 82. And while she did not mention a cause of death, Carl had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease in 2019.
“Carl 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 is survived by his siblings Sandra and Donnie,” the post read.
“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’s post continued. “The family asks for privacy during this difficult time.”
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Carl and Parton married in 1966 after first meeting in 1964 in a Nashville laundromat. It was reportedly the music icon’s first day in Music City as an up and coming singer/songwriter, and she’d described their meeting as “love at first sight.”
While Carl largely stayed out of the spotlight in the years that followed, in he made a rare statemen to Entertainment Tonight in 2016 in honor of the pair’s 50th wedding anniversary, where he recalled how he knew Parton was the one.
“My first thought was ‘I’m gonna marry that girl,'” he told the outlet. “My second thought was, ‘Lord she’s good lookin.’ And that was the day my life began. I wouldn’t trade the last 50 years for nothing on this earth.”
Speaking to PEOPLE in 2021, Parton reflected on their decades together, and special, little things Carl still did for her that she held so dear.
“My husband and I, we’ve been together 56 years. We’ve just been married 54 years this past May. But we still have our little times, like in the springtime when the first yellow daffodils come out. Even if there’s still some snow around it, my husband always brings me a bouquet. And he’ll usually write me a little poem. Which to me, that’s priceless.”
The couple would’ve celebrated their 59th anniversary this year on May 30.
