Loretta Lynn

Loretta Lynn (born Loretta Webb) was a Country singer-songwriter. Her father was Melvin Theodore "Ted" Webb (1906 - 1959) and her mother was Clara Marie "Clary" Ramey (1912 - 1981). She had siblings Melvin Jr, Herman, Willie "Jay", Donald Ray, Peggy Sue, Betty Ruth, and Crystal Gayle Webb. Loretta was the eldest daughter and the second child born to Melvin Sr and Clara Marie. Loretta married Oliver Vanetta "Doolittle" Lynn - she called him "Doo" - (1926 - 1996) on January 10, 1948. She was 15 years old, and "Doo" was 22. They had six children: Betty Sue, Jack Benny, Patsy Eileen, Peggy Jean (who were twins), Clara Marie, and Ernest Ray. Jack Benny died in 1984 at age 34 and Betty Sue died in 2013 at age 64. "Doo" died almost 50 years after they were married. In an autobiography, she wrote: "I married Doo when I wasn't but a child, and he was my life from that day on. But as important as my youth and upbringing was, there's something else that made me stick to Doo. He thought I was something special, more special than anyone else in the world, and never let me forget it. That belief would be hard to shove out the door... Doo was my security, my safety net. And just remember, I'm explainin' not excusin' . . . Doo was a good man and a hard worker. But he was an alcoholic, and it affected our marriage all the way through." It was Doo who bought Loretta her first guitar after they moved from Kentucky to Whatcom County, Washington, where she got her first job singing. She credited his support for starting her career singing, writing songs, and playing. And supposedly, their tumultuous marriage (affairs and fights) gave her plenty of fodder for her songs. Her career picked up in the 1960's and 1970's and with the premier of the movie "Coal Miner's Daughter" in the 1980's, it really took off. They bought a ranch in Hurrican Mills, Tennessee, which featured a recording studio, museums, lodging, restaurants and western stores. It is known as "the seventh Largest Attraction in Tennessee". Loretta had come a long way from the "Holler." She suffered multiple health problems in her last years - pneumonia, a broken arm, knee surgery, a stroke, a broken hip . . . but she died in her sleep in her home at Hurricane Mills at age 90. RIP Loretta. Read more details about her amazing life and career at Loretta Lynn: Obituary