Carl Dean, Dolly Parton's devoted husband of nearly 60 years who avoided the spotlight and inspired her timeless hit “Jolene, ...

She and Dean got married on May 30, 1966 (Memorial Day) in a small ceremony attended by only Parton’s mother Avie Lee Parton, ...

Dean’s name has been in the headlines since Monday night when Parton tragically announced that he has died at the age of 82.

Dolly Parton shared glimpses of her decades-long romance with husband Carl Dean months before he died in Nashville at age 82.

She wrote the hit 1973 song after a bank teller caught the eye of Dean, who died on Monday. She attributed its success to its simplicity and the universal emotions it evokes.

Their relationship inspired several of Parton's songs, most notably "Jolene," which she wrote after a flirtatious bank teller developed a crush on Dean. The couple's privacy was so fiercely guarded ...

Dolly Parton’s husband of almost 60 years, Carl Dean, died Monday in Nashville at the age of 82. As PEOPLE pointed out Monday night, Dolly Parton‘s most famous song, “Jolene,” was based on a woman who ...