Dolly Parton’s Sweet Tribute to Her Husband’s Childhood
Dolly Parton has joked that the secret to a good marriage is lots of time apart, but she also supports her relationship with thoughtful gifts for her husband. Parton’s husband, Carl Dean, is reclusive when compared to his limelight-loving wife, spending much of his time at the couple’s Tennessee home. Parton dressed up one of his favorite places on their property with a tribute to his childhood.
Dolly Parton crafted a tribute to her husband’s childhood
Parton’s career has her traveling frequently, placing her away from her husband for long stretches. She explained that even when she’s home, their schedules often do not align.
“He’s very much a loner, and of course that suits my lifestyle perfectly,” she wrote in her book Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business. “We see each other often, but we are not in each other’s face all the time. I often sit up late at night writing, as I am with this book, while he’s snoozing away. Then he’ll be up and gone before I get up.”
He liked his alone time as a child, too. According to his mother, he spent much of his time in an alley near his home.
“Carl’s favorite place when he was little was an alley that he called ‘the calley,’” Parton wrote. “His mother would call for him, ‘Carl Thomas Dean, where are you’” And he’d say, ‘Down’t the calley.’”
Parton memorialized this saying by putting it on a sign in his favorite place as an adult, his workshop.
“I had a sign made by some of the craftsmen at Dollywood, my theme park, that says DOWN’T THE CALLEY and put it up over his barn/workshop,” she wrote. “Nothing could be more appropriate. I always know if he’s not in the house, he’s ‘down’t the calley.’”
Dolly Parton said her husband is very handy
Dean spends so much time in his workshop because he’s handy and enjoys fixing up whatever he can.
“He’s a great mechanic who will work all day on a truck or tractor and then come in and sew up the pocket on his old work shirt,” she wrote. “He loves to buy an old junk car and fix it up. He’ll work and sweat until he absolutely falls over. He can fix anything. Like they say, ‘It’s nice to have a man around the house.’ Well, it’s especially nice to have all of these men around the house and all in the body of Carl.”
While he’s also artistically inclined, Parton doesn’t see this side of him all that often.
“He studied art in high school, and he likes to paint. I wish he would paint more, but he won’t get out from under the car long enough to do much of it,” she wrote. “Every once in a while he’ll write a sweet verse or two, but you can bet he won’t stick around to watch you while you read it.”
She said he is different from what people expect
While Parton describes her husband as a loner who spends most of his time in his workshop, she says he isn’t shy. He doesn’t like the level of attention she receives with her career, but he’s chatty with the people he knows and loves.
“People who don’t know Carl would think that he’s shy and bashful. That’s not really true,” she wrote. “He loves to have a great time and was voted wittiest in his high school class. It’s just that he’s comfortable with his own surroundings, with people he knows.”
The couple have been married since 1966.
