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The Untimely Deaths of Loretta Lynn’s Kids

The Tragic Deaths Of Loretta Lynn's Children
by
  • Riley is a Senior Country Music Journalist for Country Thang Daily, known for her engaging storytelling and insightful coverage of the genre.
  • Before joining Country Thang Daily, Riley developed her expertise at Billboard and People magazine, focusing on feature stories and music reviews.
  • Riley has a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Belmont University, with a minor in Cultural Studies.

Loretta Lynn’s kids experienced untimely deaths that shook the singer’s family forever. People say that the children of the queen of country music are always lucky. They have a perfect life and have a rich background thanks to their famous mom. But unfortunately, tragedy struck some of Lynn’s kids and grandchildren.

Building a Young Family

Loretta Lynn and her husband Oliver Vanetta “Doolittle” Lynn married when she was only 15. Before she rose to stardom, the country legend was a young mother first. Marrying young has its own ups and downs. She is a mom to four kids in her early 20s while a wife to a young man who’s still young to think straight on responsibilities.

Nonetheless, it was Oliver that pushed Loretta to pursue a career in music. Her songs talked about the marital problems they have experienced throughout the years. They seem to have a perfect life on the outside, but later on, they revealed that she was unhappy with it. Oliver’s alcohol addiction and frequent infidelity were some of their problems, which caused a ruckus to the family.

Tragedies of the Lynn Family

The sad ending of Loretta Lynn’s children started with the couple’s eldest son Jack Benny Lynn. In July 1984, Jack rode his horse without company around the family estate near Waverly, Tennessee. He was only 34 years old when his untimely death happened. According to reports, the eldest son tried to cross a river in the property but failed miserably, causing him to fall and drown. Loretta was incredibly devastated that reports claimed the Country Hall of Famer cried non-stop at his 45-minute funeral.

1996 was the year that Loretta’s husband died. The death was attributed to health problems, specifically diabetes-related. The veteran singer admits that he was an alcohol and a womanizer at the same time. Yet, the two stayed married for 50 years until Doolittle’s death. They bore a total of six kids.

After Jack and Doolittle died, it was years later that death came knocking again on the family’s door. Betty Sue, the daughter and eldest child, met her life’s ending when she had emphysema complications at age 64. She has two surviving daughters and five grandchildren, which kept the family’s seniors supported and accompanied.

Everyone thought that they wouldn’t experience another death for maybe ten years or more. However, that’s not the plan. The family’s eldest grandson Jeffrey Allen Lynn suddenly passed away. Loretta’s official Facebook account was the one to break the news to the public. Jeffery was Jack’s son who happened to work on the ranch.

Songwriters used their past to create emotional yet powerful songs. But some subjects were never written no matter what. In this case, Loretta Lynn’s kids and the country legend herself suffered a lot from these untimely deaths.

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