Dolly Parton: I Expect to See My Husband Again

Dolly Parton reflects on the recent death of her husband of 58 years, Carl Dean, in a new interview with the AP. Some highlights:

• "I am a person of faith, and I truly believe that I'm going to see him again someday. And I see him every day in my memories and in my heart, and in all the things that we used to do and all the things that we've built together," said Parton, 79. "You just kind of have to learn to kind of make new plans—but that's the hardest part."

• "I really feel his presence," says the 10-time Grammy winner. "I just try to go on, because I know I have to. And he was ill for quite a while, and part of me was at peace that he was at peace and not suffering anymore. But that still doesn't make up for the loss and the loneliness of it."
• Parton isn't slowing down on business after Dean's death. In fact, she's now promoting her new single-serve Southern-inspired frozen meals, following her popular Duncan Hines baking mixes via a collaboration with US-based Conagra Brands. She also has a memoir coming out later this year called Star of the Show.
• "I've always had dreams and I'm always working," she said. "My husband understood that. Carl knew that better than anybody and he was all about it. He was very proud of me. … So when I did lose him, I just thought, well, I'm going to take all of that energy, and I'm just going to put that back into other things, and I'll keep him ever-present in everything that I do."

(Read the full interview.)