Fans of country music legend Dolly Parton will be delighted to know that the famously sunny singer is maintaining her positive outlook, even in the loss of her beloved husband of almost 60 years.

Less than two weeks after husband Carl Dean’s death, Dolly sat down with Knox News and opened up about how she’s coping. “I’m doing better than I thought I would. I’ve been with him 60 years. So, I’m going to have to relearn some of the things that we’ve done. But I’ll keep him always close.”

Dolly told the news outlet that Dean “suffered a great deal” before his death, though she did not elaborate on that. But she did say, “I’m at peace that he’s at peace, but that don’t keep me from missing him and loving him. It’s a hole in my heart, you know, but we’ll fill that up with good stuff and he’ll still always be with me.”

Dolly Parton Talks About Healing

Last Wednesday night’s live three-hour special celebrating the Grand Ole Opry’s 100th birthday has played a role in filling up that hole in Dolly’s heart. “Opry 100: A Live Celebration” closed out the show with an emotional tribute to Parton, who couldn’t attend.

About 50 Grand Ole Opry members took the stage behind Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood of Lady A, who stood with Reba McEntire and Carrie Underwood. Those five lead all the artists in singing Parton’s hit “I Will Always Love You” as a tribute to Dolly’s husband Carl Dean.

While Dolly was not in the audience that night, she posted on her Instagram stories, “I have not stopped crying over the beautiful tribute of ‘I Will Always Love You’ on the 100th Anniversary of the Grand Ole Opry show. All those beautiful people with all those beautiful voices singing my song as a tribute to my husband Carl… the emotion was beyond words. I have cried enough to wash a great deal of the pain away so thanks to all of you beautiful people who helped make that possible. I also will always love you. -Dolly”

Dolly Parton Says Carl Dean Liked to Go to Dollywood

In the interview with Knox News, Parton shared memories of her husband, who she met when she was 18 on the day she moved to Nashville.

Dolly says while Dean did not like to attend red carpet events or premieres with her, he did love to go to her theme park, Dollywood. The catch? Dolly says he wouldn’t go with her, and he always bought his own ticket!

“He used to come to the park; he bought his own ticket, stood in line and got his ticket,” she said. “He didn’t want somebody giving him a ticket ‘cause he was Dolly’s husband,” Parton told the newspaper. “Everybody thinks that’s the funniest thing.”

“He’d come up to East Tennessee to see some of my family and people that he loved of my people,: Parton explained. “And so, he’d just think, ‘Well, I think I’ll go to Dollywood, check things out,’” she added.

While the pair were different in many ways, one of the things they agreed on was a dislike of rollercoasters. Instead, Dean would indulge in park food like funnel cakes, and walk around looking at everything the park had to offer. He also brought back suggestions for his wife.

“He would say, ‘You need more bathrooms,’” Parton laughed. “Or he would say, ‘You need to tell them this or that. It’s crowded over in that area. You might want to tell them they ought to do this or that.’ He wasn’t coming to criticize. But he would notice things and he would say, you might want to bring this to their attention,” she added.

Dolly Parton Maintains Dollywood Tradition Despite Loss

Despite her loss, Dolly was on-hand for the opening of the park’s 40th year, which is tradition. In fact, it was her first public appearance after Dean’s death.

Parton told the opening day crowd, “I just wanted you to know that of course I will always love him and I miss him. But I want you to know that I always love you. He would want me to be working today.”

While she thanked the crowd for their flowers, cards and well-wishes, Dolly was still able to keep her famous sense of humor. When Dollywood President Eugene Naughton told park visitors, “There have been some significant facelifts to areas around,” Parton quipped, “Well, I always say: if you see something sagging, dragging and bagging, you need to get it nipped, tucked or sucked.”