If you can laugh when you’re going through one of the hardest times of your life, you’re going to be just fine.
Over the weekend, less than two weeks after her husband of almost 60 years Carl Dean passed away in Nashville at the age of 82, Dolly Parton was seen visiting her theme park in Sevierville, Tennessee, at Dollywood, marking her first public appearance since she lost the love of her life.
She was at the park to perform “Celebrate the Dreamer In You” at the 40th grand opening of Dollywood, in addition to talking with the crowd at the show and also participating in the Dollywood parade, waving to tons of fans outside too. She seemed to be in good spirits, especially considering all she’s been through lately, and she had her signature Dolly humor on display when talking with the crowd during a Q&A session.
With Dollywood gearing up to launch a new experience next year focused on bringing the magic of the Smoky Mountains to life at night (one of Dolly’s favorite things is the stars and peacefulness of night in the mountains), she was asked:
“Do you have a special memory of nighttime in the Smokies?”
She had a dirty joke ready to go right off the bat:
“Yeah, but I can’t say it here. Several, as a matter of fact.”
Classic Dolly… she had the host tongue tied with that one too:
“I don’t know what to say to that.”
She assured him no further explanation or context was needed, and that everyone could read between the lines there:
“You don’t need to.”
Humor is a great coping mechanism for many of us, especially during hard times, but Dolly being a able to carry on like this after such a huge loss in her life is so impressive, though I’m not really that surprised, because that’s just who she is, but I’m sure she’s obviously heartbroken and really hurting behind closed doors.
This is just so great:
@dollymoments @Dolly Parton shares her favorite nighttime memories in the smokies after discussing a new experience at @Dollywood Parks & Resorts ♬ original sound – Dolly Moments
She also thanked fans in attendance for all their love and support, saying how much she will love and miss her husband:
“I just wanted to take a minute to thank all of you for all of the flowers and cards, and the well wishes for the loss of Carl. You know how I loved him and he would want me to be working today, I expect to be working, so anyway, I just wanted you to know that of course, I will always love him and I’ll miss him, but I want you to know that I will always love you.”
@dollymoments♬ original sound – Dolly Moments
Here’s a little bit of her performance… you can tell she’s sad, but she’s pushing through like always and still bringing love and joy to so many, as she always does:
@dollymoments @Dolly Parton at the opening of @Dollywood Parks & Resorts ♬ original sound – Dolly Moments
The famous story goes that Dolly and Carl met outside of the Wishy Washy laundromat in Nashville in 1964, the same day that Dolly moved to Music City. They dated for two years, and decided they wanted to get married. And actually, at the time of their wedding, Dolly’s newfound record label didn’t want her to get married at all. They thought it might tarnish her image, and as we all know, Dolly did what she wanted anyways… so she and Carl Dean secretly ran off to Ringgold, Georgia, along with Parton’s mom Avie Lee as a witness, and headed for the local courthouse.
The rest, as they say, is history, and he’s been by her side for decades, and while we never saw him in-person, he was a guiding light and rock in the life of an incredible woman who accomplished everything and more.
Dolly also put out a touching new song last week in his honor called “If You Hadn’t Been There,” which is a beautiful tribute to her late husband you can listen to here:
