Loretta Lynn, a dirt-poor Kentucky coal miner’s daughter who soared to international acclaim, died Tuesday morning at her Tennessee home.
“Our precious mom, Loretta Lynn, passed away peacefully this morning, Oct. 4, in her sleep at home in her beloved ranch in Hurricane Mills,” her family said in a statement.
The country diva celebrated her 90th birthday in April, with well-wishes from musicians worldwide.
“To us, you’re always timeless and ageless and always will be,” Tim McGraw said.
Lynn was sent to a Nashville hospital in 2017 after having a stroke at her Hurricane Mills home. The country singer has also been hospitalized multiple times for exhaustion and pneumonia, despite continuing to tour music halls and welcome visitors to her ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee.
While Lynn was still unable to attend the premiere celebration for her new exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville on Aug. 23, she sent her daughter, Patsy Lynn Russell, off with “a piece of me” – the two wedding bands given to her by her late husband, Oliver (Doolittle) Lynn.
“It took her so long to get one, I think he felt she deserved two,” Russell said as she fingered the two identical bands, each studded with a row of small diamonds. “She took them off her finger and gave them to me today … It’s kind of like she gets to go through [the exhibit] with me.”
Though Lynn was singing around the house again and in talks with her Sony label about releasing her new record, which had been delayed due to the stroke, Russell said her mother’s major issue was recovering her balance. However, her development in six weeks has encouraged her family to be optimistic about her quick recovery.
“The difference between then and now is night and day,” said Lynn’s grandson, Anthony Brutto, who summoned the ambulance for his grandmother after the stroke. “It’s amazing to see the will and fire she has inside … Nothing can get her down, and nothing will get her down. … She’s still witty. She’s still very sharp. She’s still very funny. When I went over there last week she said she’s writing songs and playing the guitar, so it’s really awesome to get to see that.”
Lynn tried everything she could to get back on her feet for the people she cares about the most. Her participation at Alan Jackson’s Country Music Hall of Fame induction, which marked her first public appearance in Nashville since her health crisis, was not to be missed.
“This is the first time I’ve been out of the home, Alan,” Lynn remarked as the 800 invited guests gave her a rowdy standing ovation. “You’re the only thing that’ve brought me here.”