Dolly Parton surprised fans at her Dollywood amusement park on Friday as she made her first public appearance since the death of her husband Carl Dean last week.
Parton, who appeared at an event celebrating the start of Dollywood’s 40th season, thanked fans for their “flowers and cards and the well wishes for the loss of Carl.”
“You know how I loved him and he would want me to be working today, I expect to be working,” Parton told season passholders at the park’s Celebrity Theater in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
She then made a nod to one of her most iconic songs, “So, anyway, I just wanted you to know that, of course, I will always love him and I’ll miss him but I want you to know that I will always love you.”
Later in the event, Parton performed “Celebrate the Dreamer in You,” a song written for the park’s 25th anniversary in 2010.
Parton also smiled and waved as she made her way through a sea of adoring fans in a parade to celebrate the park’s 40th season.
Parton, in an interview with Knox News, said she will always keep Dean “close” to her.
“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,” she said.
“He suffered a great deal, so I’m at peace with him being at peace.”
The music legend and her husband, who kept their relationship notably private and didn’t attend award shows or events together, were married for 58 years.
He inspired Parton’s song “Jolene” and the singer recently paid a touching tribute to him with her track “If You Hadn’t Been There.”
Dean was 82.