Dolly Parton's husband of nearly 60 years, Carl Thomas Dean, has died at age 82.
The iconic singer shared the news Monday via her Instagram, writing that her longtime husband died in Nashville, Tennessee.
"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."
Dean was born in Nashville in 1942 as the youngest of three children to Virginia "Ginny" Bates Dean and Edgar "Ed" Henry Dean. He met Parton in 1964 outside a laundromat, according to People, which noted that Parton was 18 and had just moved to Nashville to pursue her music career.
"I'd come to Nashville with dirty clothes," she told The New York Times in 1976. "I was in such a hurry to get here. And after I'd put my clothes in the machine, I started walkin' down the street, just lookin' at my new home, and this guy hollered at me, and I waved. Bein' from the country, I spoke to everybody. And he came over and, well, it was Carl, my husband."
Parton recalled being "surprised and delighted" as they continued to chat. However, she would not immediately "go out with him."
"I mean, that was somethin' we was taught. You gotta know somebody or they may take you on a back road and kill you," she told the Times. "But I said, 'You're welcome to come up to the house tomorrow because I'm babysittin' my little nephew.'"
He did and continued to visit every day that week. The first time they went out together, he took her to meet his parents.
"My first thought was, 'I'm gonna marry that girl,'" Dean told Entertainment Tonight in 2016. "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."
Parton and Dean tied the knot in Ringgold, Georgia, in 1966 with only a few witnesses present — Parton's mother, the pastor and the pastor's wife. As Parton's career took off in the late 1960s, Dean remained behind the scenes, offering his support while dedicating himself to his asphalt business. He lived at their expansive home in Tara, located just outside Nashville. Among Dean's hobbies was buying and reselling trucks and tractors.