Originally published on 3/4/25

Dolly Parton’s husband, Carl Thomas Dean, passed away on Monday, March 3, 2025. He was 82 and had been married to the singer since May 1966. 

“Carl and I spent many wonderful years together,” Parton said in a statement on Instagram “Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy.” 

To honor Thomas and his 59-year marriage to Parton, we look back on their relationship, including how they met, what they liked to do together and more below.  

The beginning of Dolly Parton and Carl Thomas Dean’s love story 

Thomas was born on July 20, 1942, in Nashville, Tennessee—which is the same city where he met Parton in 1964. 

“I thought he was the cutest thing I’d ever seen,” the singer told Woman’s World of their first meeting in December 2024. “I thought that he was meant to be, and it has turned out. And he said it was truly love at first sight. I’d always heard that, but it truly was.” 

At the time of their meeting, Thomas was 21 and working as an asphalt paver, whereas Parton was 18 and trying to make it as a singer. The pair dated for two years before tying the knot on May 30, 1966. 

Following their nuptials, Thomas and Parton began to dive deep into their marital bliss and even bought a blue Chevy station wagon together. 

“My first car was actually mine and Carl’s first car,”  Parton said. “I was not that good of a driver. And so we bought a car, and that’s the one I ran into the RCA building.” 

When they weren’t driving, Parton said that Thomas was most likely to be found eating anything with chocolate in it. 

“He’s a chocolate-ite,” the singer shared.“And I’m always getting him chocolate cakes and chocolate pies and chocolate pudding. Anything chocolate.” 

The sweet story behind ‘Jolene’

Parton also revealed in 2008 that Thomas also enjoyed going to the bank during the first couple years of their marriage because there was a cute teller that flirted with him. This would later inspire her hit 1973 song “Jolene.” 

“He just loved going to the bank because she paid him so much attention,” Parton told National Public Radio in October 2008. “It was kinda like a running joke between us—when I was saying, ‘Hell, you’re spending a lot of time at the bank. I don’t believe we’ve got that kind of money.’ So it’s really an innocent song all around, but sounds like a dreadful one.”

“Jolene” would later become one of Parton’s most well-known songs. 

The later years of Carl Thomas Dean and Dolly Parton

Aside from rare comments from the singer, the entirety of Thomas and Parton’s relationship remains a mystery, as the couple preferred to keep their private life private. 

However, in 2016, they did renew their vows to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary, and the event gave the singer the idea to release the album Pure & Simple in August of that same year. It was her 45th studio album and had 17 songs on it. 

Then, in December 2024, the singer shared just how much their love means to her, telling Woman’s World, “I think I’ve had many loves, but Carl is my best and lasting.” 

“He was the one that’s lasted for 60 years.”

As of publication, Thomas’s cause of death remains unknown. He and Parton had no children but did have several nieces and nephews. 

“He will be laid to rest in a private ceremony with immediate family attending. He was survived by his siblings Sandra and Donnie,” according to Parton’s statement. 

May Carl Thomas Dean rest in peace. 

Link to original: https://www.womansworld.com/entertainment/celebrities/dolly-partons-husband-carl-dean-dies-at-82-their-love-story