The country music legend Jeannie Seely died on Friday at the age of 85. Now, her fellow country music icon and longtime friend Dolly Parton has broken her silence to address her passing.
Seely’s Death
Seely’s rep told People Magazine that the singer died on August 1 at Summit Medical Center in Hermitage, Tennessee. She reportedly passed away due to complications from an intestinal infection.
Seely’s rep explained that the country music star had been battling various health issues throughout most of 2025. After losing her husband Eugene Ward to cancer back in December, Seely underwent “multiple back surgeries this spring for vertebrae repairs.” She also had to undergo “two emergency abdominal surgeries.”
Seely herself in May that she spent “11 days in the intensive care unit and [suffered] a bout with pneumonia.”
“Rehab is pretty tough, but each day is looking brighter and last night, I saw a light at the end of the tunnel. And it was neon, so I knew it was mine!” Seely said at the time. “The unsinkable Seely is working her way back.”
Parton Breaks Her Silence
Hours after Seely’s death, Parton took to Instagram to honor her “dearest friend.”
“I have known Jeannie Seely since we were early on in Nashville. She was one of my dearest friends,” wrote Parton, 79.
“I think she was one of the greater singers in Nashville and she had a wonderful sense of humor,” she continued. “We had many wonderful laughs together, cried over certain things together and she will be missed.”
Seely’s Life
Born in Titusville, Pennsylvania in 1940, Seely became a huge fan of the Grand Ole Opry as a small child.
“Actually, I knew at 8 years old what I wanted to be,” Seely told People in 2022 about her country singing dreams. “And I knew I wanted to be at the Opry.”
Seely went on to say that she was inspired by Grand Ole Opry singers like Roy Acuff, Minnie Pearl, Ernest Tubb, Kitty Wells, Little Jimmy Dickens and Jean Shepard.
“I just wanted to know them,” she recalled. “I wanted to be a part of that family that I heard every week.”
Seely began performing at the age of 11. She later moved to Nashville to pursue her country music dreams in 1965.
“When I arrived in town, I only had $50 and a Ford Falcon to my name,” Seely told the Erie Times-News in 2015. “But within a month, Porter Wagoner hired me as the female singer for his road show and syndicated television series.”
Seely Achieves Country Music Success
Seely quickly signed in Nashville’s Monument Records. She then scored her first hit with the 1966 song “Don’t Touch Me.” The song reached No. 2 on the US Hot Country Songs, and Seely received Grammy nominations for Best Country & Western Recording and Best Country & Western Vocal Performance – Female, winning the latter.
The song was so successful that Seely finally achieved her dream of performing at the Grand Ole Opry.
“I was standing shoulder to shoulder in the wings with all my heroes,” she recalled of this first performance in a 2022 interview. “I had never even seen them in person anywhere — even across the footlights.”
In 1967, Seely was inducted as a member of the Grand Ole Opry.
“The Opry is just simply a way of life to me,” she said.
Seely went on to score more hits with songs like “A Wanderin’ Man” (1967) and “I’ll Love You More (Than You’ll Need)” (1968). She was known for her uniquely soulful tone, even earning herself the nickname “Miss Country Soul.”
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Seely Never Stopped Working
Seely continued working right up until the end of her life. In 2024, she released a new song, “Suffertime.” She said at the time that she was working on more new music.
“This is crazy,” she told People last year when the song was released. “It’s just phenomenal that I’m still able to be doing this.”
“I just feel blessed every day,” she added of her long career. “I tell everybody I’m not retired; I just quit working. They’re two different things. I only do what I enjoy. If it sounds like too much work, I just know we don’t want to do that.”
Seely’s final number of Opry appearances stands at 5,397. In the end, she achieved all the dreams she had as a child, and more.
Rest in peace, Jeannie Seely.
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