Dolly Parton surprises fans with first public appearance since husband's devastating death

Carl Dean died on March 3. Despite her loss, the country music legend surprised guests at Dollywood's Celebrity Theater in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, in honor of the theme park's 40th anniversary.

The country star announced her 82-year-old husband had died in Nashville on Instagram.

The country music star later shared a message of thanks.

Dean will be laid to rest in a private ceremony with immediate family in attendance.

"She got this terrible crush on my husband," Parton told NPR in 2008. "And he just loved going to the bank because she paid him so much attention," she recalled. "It was kind of like a running joke between us when I was saying, 'Hell, you're spending a lot of time at the bank. I don't believe we've got that kind of money.' So it's really an innocent song all around, but sounds like a dreadful one."

Fox News Digital's Tracy Wright contributed to this report.