Loretta Lynn outlived her husband by more than 25 years
Despite famous ups and downs, Lynn and Oliver stayed together for 48 years. And she gave him a lot of credit for her country music success.
“If it wasn’t for Doolittle, there would be no career,” Lynn wrote in Coal Miner’s Daughter (People). “I wouldn’t have started singing in the first place, and I wouldn’t have had the inspiration for some of my best songs, in the second place. And I never could have run my business. So in a real sense, Doolittle is responsible for everything we got.”
Before his death, she stopped touring to help with his medical needs. He died in 1996, and she survived him by 26 years.