Country Icon Loretta Lynn Dead at 90 After 60-Year Career: See Statement From Her Family
Gone but not forgotten. Country icon Loretta Lynn has died at age 90, her family shared in a statement obtained by Closer Weekly.
“Our precious mom, Loretta Lynn, passed away peacefully this morning, October 4th, in her sleep at home in her beloved ranch in Hurricane Mills,” the statement read.
The "You Ain't Woman Enough" singer's career was full of more than 51 incredible Top 10 hits, an induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame and collaborations with artists like Reba McEntire, Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert and Sheryl Crow. In 1980, the film Coal Miner's Daughter was made based on the life of the songwriter, whose father, Melvin Theodore "Ted" Webb, was a coal miner. The Academy Award-winning film brought Loretta's music to an even wider audience.
The hitmaker released her final studio album, Still Woman Enough, in March 2021 after facing multiple health issues. Loretta suffered a stroke in May 2017 and was hospitalized before making a full recovery. Her remaining tour dates were canceled, and the release of her album Wouldn't It Be Great was delayed to September 2018.
“Thank you so much for all of your prayers, love and support," she wrote on her official Facebook page at the time. "I'm happy to say that I'm at home with my family and getting better by the day! My main focus now is making a full recovery so that I can get back to putting all of me into what I love, sharing my music with all of you."
Eight months later, she suffered a fall, resulting in a broken hip. Despite her injury, the Grammy winner was determined to get back on stage.
“She’s in great spirits — she’s just aggravated because she was recovering so well and getting around. Now, this is a setback,” her daughter Patsy told People in January 2018.
Loretta gave fans an update on her condition 16 months after suffering a stroke in September 2018.
“I wasn’t [going] to let it stop me," she told People at the time. "You just can’t sit down and say ‘Hey, take me.’”
Loretta is survived by her four children, Patsy Lynn Russell, Peggy Lynn, Clara Marie Lynn and Ernest Ray Lynn, as well as multiple grandchildren. Her eldest daughter, Betty Sue Lynn, died at age 64 in 2013. Her second child, Jack Benny Lynn, died in 1984. The Kentucky native was married to her husband, Oliver Vanetta “Doolittle” Lynn, from 1948 up until his death in 1996, days ahead of his 70th birthday.
