Diane’s Country Music Newsletter — 6 August 2025
BOOK REVIEW – DOLLY PARTON: JOURNEY OF A SEEKER
Dolly Parton: Journey of a Seeker is the title of an extensive exhibition that opened May 20, 2025, at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee. It is also the title of this companion book, which was created by the staff of the museum and published by The Country Music Foundation Press to advertise the exhibition. Dolly collaborated on both projects.
Open until September 2026, the exhibition covers Dolly’s more than 60-year career and the obstacles surmounted on her way to becoming one of the most beloved and widely recognized musical celebrities in the world. She is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. She has also received the National Medal of Arts and the Kennedy Center Honors.
The colorful 10×10-inch book displays photos of items in the exhibition, such as handwritten lyrics, stage wear, show posters, instruments, and awards. Her key ring from the 1960s is among them. Readability is often sacrificed for color, with light-orange captions and white-on-pink chapter text. A chapter titled “All Her Colors” shows various gowns on mannequins, next to original sketches of the designs. Gowns are scattered throughout the pages.
Some of the 80 pages highlight Dolly’s quotes and show her sense of humor, such as: “We always made a joke that me and my uncle had real bad sinus trouble when we went to Nashville. We went to every label in town, and nobody would sign…us.”
Interspersed throughout the book are photos of Dolly during major events of her life, beginning with the impoverished little girl in east Tennessee who dreamed of being a singing star. The “Hey, Porter” chapter reflects her tough decision to postpone her solo career in favor of gaining national recognition by being Porter Wagoner’s duet partner. In the next chapter, “Songteller,” she forges ahead on her own. One quote states, “I always said that my desire to do something has been greater than my fear of it. And that’s how I like to live today.”
Her “desire to do something” comes across in the chapters devoted to her movie 9 to 5 and to songs such as “Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors,” and “I Will Always Love You.” Most chapters are two-to-four pages long. The chapter on “Parton Family DNA” discusses an album she made to honor her musical Parton and Owens relatives. Strangely, there is no mention in the book of her husband, Carl Dean, to whom she was married from 1966 until his death earlier this year. He played a major behind-the-scenes supporting role in her life.
A full-page photo of Dolly in her tour bus in 1979 opens the book. The closing photo shows her kicking her leg high in a Nashville park in 1975. She says, “I have always been a seeker in every way. My spiritual life, my professional life, my personal life. I’m always looking. I’m always trying to find another mountain to climb.”
Dolly Parton: Journey of a Seeker is filled with the glitz and color one would expect of Dolly herself. It’s for browsing and enjoying, not for deep research on her life It’s an excellent tease to encourage people to visit the exhibition in Nashville.
NEWS
Jeannie Seely (1940-2025)
This is a tough one to write. Jeannie Seely, 85, died Friday, August 1, at 5 p.m., of complications from an intestinal infection. She had been in hospice at Summit Medical Center in Hermitage, Tennessee, for several days. She holds the record for the most Grand Ole Opry performances in the radio program’s 100-year history: 5,397 shows. Born July 6, 1940, in Titusville, Pennsylvania, Jeannie grew up on a farm near Townville. She moved to Los Angeles at age 21 and worked as a secretary at Liberty Records to get into the music business. She moved to Nashville in 1965 and first appeared on the Grand Ole Opry stage in 1966. Wearing a miniskirt, she singlehandedly changed fashion for female Opry performers. She joined the Opry in 1967 and won a Grammy for her breakout hit “Don’t Touch Me.” She and Jack Greene toured for years as one of country’s most beloved duos. In 1985, she became the first woman to host a half-hour Opry segment. “That was a hard-won battle,” she later said. “That was a door I kicked incessantly to get open.” She was married to songwriter Hank Cochran from 1969-1979 and to attorney Gene Ward from 2010 until his death in 2024. In 2025, she became the artist with the longest span—60 years—between recordings at RCA Studio B. In early 2025, she underwent multiple back surgeries, followed by two emergency abdominal surgeries, eleven days in intensive care, and a bout with pneumonia. In July she returned to hosting her Sundays with Seely radio show on the SiriusXM channel, Willie’s Roadhouse. Her memorial service will be August 14 at the Grand Ole Opry House at 10 a.m.
The Daily Caller reports that Chris Stapleton made a guest appearance July 24 on Sesame Street. He played a song he wrote about music and friendship and togetherness. Muppets Abby, Bert, Cookie Monster, Elmo, Ernie, and Grover accompanied him.
A sold-out benefit concert with 1,200 guests was hosted at Estancia at Thunder Valley in Boerne, Texas, by George Strait and Tom Cusick on Sunday, July 27. Following devastating floods across Texas Hill Country, George “rallied fans and fellow artists for a night of music, generosity, and healing,” reports Country Now. Texas Governor Greg Abbott addressed the crowd, and a live auction was also held. Performers included Ray Benson, Randy Houser, Dean Dillon, Riley Green, and Jamey Johnson. Garth Brooks joined George for “The Fireman” in honor of first responders. Jamey Johnson joined him for “Give It Away,” while son Bubba Strait and songwriter Dean Dillon took the stage with him for “Here for a Good Time.” George closed the show with “The Cowboy Rides Away.” The event raised over $6.25 million (and counting) for those in need.
PEOPLE calls it “the highest-grossing country tour in history.” Beyoncé, 43, wrapped her Cowboy Carter Tour with $407.6 million in box office and 1.6 million tickets sold over 32 shows. According to Billboard, her 32 concerts took place in nine cities: Los Angeles, Chicago, New York City, Houston, Washington, D.C., Dallas, Atlanta, London, and Paris. It was the shortest tour in history to cross the $400 million threshold. While artists don’t usually play so many shows in a single location, doing so allowed her to sell more tickets and push higher grosses.
Former Pinkard & Bowden duo partner Sandy Pinkard, 78, died at home in Kingwood, West Virginia, on July 26. Born James Sanford Pinkard Jr. in 1947, he served in the Air Force during the Vietnam War. He and Texas songwriter Richard Bowden formed Pinkard & Bowden in 1984. According to MusicRow, the comedy duo recorded for Warner Records from 1985-1993. Their witty parodies of country songs included “Mama She’s Lazy” (a parody of “Mama He’s Crazy”) and “She Thinks I Steal Cars” (“She Thinks I Still Care”), along with “Help Me Make It Through the Yard,” “Delta Dawg,” “Drivin’ My Wife Away,” “Libyan on a Jet Plane,” and “Blue Hairs Driving in My Lane.” “Friends in Crawl Spaces”, a parody of “Friends in Low Places,” referenced serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. (Richard Bowden, 79, lives in his hometown of Linden, Texas.) Sandy Pinkard co-wrote such hits as “You’re the Reason God Made Oklahoma,” “Coca Cola Cowboy,” “Pecos Promenade,” and “I Can Tell By the Way You Dance” for other artists. He was buried at the West Virginia National Cemetery in Grafton, West Virginia, with full military honors.
Tommy Nallie, former trail boss of the Sons of the Pioneers, died August 4 of prostate cancer at Cox Medical Center in Branson, Missouri. He was 77. Born in Beaumont, Texas, in 1947, he joined the group in 1983 as tenor singer. He took over as the group’s leader in 2015, when his older brother, Luther Nallie, stepped down. Tommy played guitar, bass, violin, drums, and other instruments, and his deep knowledge of the Pioneers’ musical catalog and intricate harmony arrangements helped preserve the traditional Pioneer sound. Tommy recently handed the role of trail boss to fellow Pioneer John Fullerton.
At a concert in North Dakota, Luke Bryan was singing when someone in the crowd threw a ball and hit him in the face. Taste of Country reports he stayed professional, only missing a line or two before getting back into the song. He didn’t say anything onstage. Later, he told Taste of Country Nights, “If I saw him throw it, I probably would have jumped right off in there.” But he acknowledged, “There were a lot of little kids down there. At that point, if I’d even stopped and pointed somebody out, it kills the vibe of the show.” He is just getting back to playing live concerts after coming down with COVID-19 in mid-June and canceling several shows.
After Ronnie McDowell suffered a stroke onstage on June 21, and doctors diagnosed him with a 70-percent blockage in his carotid artery, surgery was scheduled to address the blockage. He is now recovering after having that surgery on July 22.
Tex-Mex musician Flaco Jiménez died July 31 at age 86 in San Antonio, reports MusicRow. His distinctive button accordion is immortalized on “All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down” by The Mavericks (1986) and “The Streets of Bakersfield” by Dwight Yoakam & Buck Owens (1988). Alongside Freddy Fender, Doug Sahm, and Augie Meyers, Flaco Jiménez was a member of The Texas Tornados from 1990-2010. He recorded with Bob Dylan, Linda Ronstadt, The Bellamy Brothers, Tanya Tucker, Junior Brown, John Hiatt, Emmylou Harris, Lee Roy Parnell, Chet Atkins & Suzy Bogguss, Los Lobos, Santana, Ray Benson, Radney Foster, and The Rolling Stones, among many others. Born Leonardo Jiménez in 1939, he joined his father’s accordion band at age 7 and began recording at age 15. He rose to prominence on the San Antonio music scene, starring on local television and regularly filling dancehalls. In 2012, Flaco Jiménez was given a National Heritage Fellowship Award by the National Endowment for the Arts. He was awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015 and a National Medal of Arts in 2022.
I’ll try to summarize this long, sad story that shows how easily grieving people can be taken advantage of. Taste of Country reports the details. Nancy Jones, the widow of George Jones, put a house on the market in August 2013. Kirk West and a group of investors toured the home. He began texting Nancy, and they struck up a friendship. Eventually, Nancy invited him to move into her house. In 2016, West was charged with bank fraud; he pled guilty to two counts and was sentenced to one year of house arrest. Nancy paid his legal fees and his $935,045 restitution. While on house arrest, he got interested in cryptocurrency and persuaded Nancy to invest. In June of this year, Nancy grew suspicious that West was cheating on her, and she asked her granddaughter to check on her jewelry and cash. The granddaughter discovered that $400,000 in cash was missing from the safe, along with a Ledger wallet containing over $11 million in digital currency. Nancy, 66, filed a theft report on July 23, and West, 58, was arrested at the Nashville International Airport the following day. Court documents state that Nancy kicked West out of their home on June 28. Her ex-boyfriend has been charged with theft of over $250,000, a Class A felony in Tennessee. His bond was set at $1 million, with a court date of October 23. A legal team helped Nancy recover most of the crypto currency, with about $1.5 million still missing.
Farm Aid’s 40th anniversary festival will take place on September 20 at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. MusicRow reports that Kenny Chesney, Wynonna Judd, and Steve Earle have joined the lineup that includes Farm Aid board members Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews, and Margo Price, along with numerous other performers. Farm Aid has raised $85 million over the years to support family-owned farms. All artists donate their time.
Carnegie Hall will host 35 concerts from January through July 2026 to celebrate our nation’s 250th birthday. United in Sound: America at 250 Festival will showcase the very best of the musical riches that have evolved and flourished in the U.S. MusicRow reports the Grand Ole Opry will provide a special night of country music at Carnegie Hall on March 20. Featured artists will be announced in the upcoming months. The “United In Sound” Opry event will mark the fourth headlining performance by the Opry at Carnegie Hall, following previous visits in 1947, 1961, and 2005.
Louise Mandrell posted this photo on Facebook of her and her sisters celebrating their mother’s 94th birthday on August 4.
The beautiful Mandrell women: Barbara, Mary Ellen, Irlene, and Louise – August 4, 2025
LETTERS
Don Ewert writes from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, “So sad to hear of Jeannie Seely passing away. I have a bunch of letters and pictures from her. One time she sent me one of her CDs and signed it To Don Dottie’s #1 Fan. Jeannie was one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. Her & Jack Greene had one of the best shows on the road at one time. It was the most entertaining show I’d seen in Milwaukee.”
Rosemary Eng writes from Whiting, New Jersey, “I was so sad to hear that Jeannie Seely passed away. I felt like I lost a dear friend…that’s how she made her fans feel. I wrote you many years ago when I contacted her about not receiving her book I had ordered. She said she was having trouble with her distributor. She said, ‘I have the Opry tonight, but I’ll go to the Post Office tomorrow and get it off to you.’ WOW, OK girlfriend! A few days later it arrived. What a classy lady. When she married Gene Ward in 2010, I emailed my congratulations but couldn’t resist teasing her about getting married ‘at our age!’ She said Gene is a great guy. So may Jeannie RIP with Gene, her great guy she shared 15 years with.”
Bob Jennings says, “When You do a Biography — You Do a Biography!! I enjoyed every Page and all the Photos. My favorite song of Randy’s is ‘Diggin’ Up Bones.’ I remember reading about Randy when he first came out–they (whoever ‘they’ are) said he was too country–when I heard him sing, it brought back the Lefty Frizzell sound. Randy was True Traditional Country and kept that Sound throughout his Singing Career. Thank you for Writing another Biography and hopefully, you will have another one in the future.”
Doug Lippert writes from Carmel, Indiana (Greater Indianapolis), “You’re quite the busy author and historian these days, thanks, once more, for keeping the spirit of country music–past, present and future, alive. I was pleased to see you mention the influence of the musicians and music that came out of Muscle Shoals. Muscle Shoals is certainly worth a visit to stop by ‘3614 Jackson Highway’ as shown on Cher’s sixth album, the first recorded at The Muscle Shoals Sound Studio. Such incredible history and you can almost hear Billy Powell working out the piano intro to ‘Free Bird’ that got him promoted from a roadie to a full-fledged member of Lynyrd Skynyrd. Head over to FAME studios and you’ll swear you can hear Wilson Pickett screaming on ‘Night of 1000 Dances’ and see Duane Allman camping in the parking lot before Rick Hall discovers his genius. A day spent at these two studios is almost like going to church for music fans. I visited in 2024. Earlier this year I stopped in Macon to pay my respects to Duane Allman et al at Rose Hill Cemetery, then finished with a stop by Otis Redding’s museum in Macon and Little Richard’s boyhood home. For those of us who love all types of American Music, these places are like shrines. With that in mind, I acknowledge the passing of Jimmy Swagartt, Jerry Lee Lewis’s and Mickey Gilley’s first cousin. Jimmy was an incredible musician, whose ad-libbed arpeggios could transform a tired old song into a masterpiece. JLL and Jimmy were influential in helping Mickey learn to play piano and develop his style and no matter what you thought of any of their lifestyles, their musicianship cannot be debated. They were just that good. And let’s not forget that Gilley’s was once the world’s largest Honky Tonk. Yours is the first email I open when it arrives and I just can’t wait for the next one. Thanks so much.”
Dominique ‘Imperial’ Anglares writes from France, “Another welcome Country Music Newsletter. Thank you very much for the mention given about Connie Francis. She was a lovely and talented Lady.”
Eric Calhoun in Los Angeles says, “Jeff Chandler, thank you for telling us about 106.3 WTUF. I put this into my Blind Shell Classic 2 phone. When the Classic 3 comes to me, wtufradio.com, as a bookmark, will also go with me. More on LeAnn Rimes: Did you know she did a great version of “I Fall To Pieces?” Also, I do not know the date, but 95.5 WSM-FM, formerly Nash Icon, reports that she will be playing the Ryman Auditorium, at the Grand Ole Opry. The soon-to-be-44-year-old, still singing, still entertaining, and I am proud of her.”
Martha Moore of so much MOORE media in Nashville says, “Thanks for including Alex. In case you missed it, the July issue of CMA Close Up interviewed me.”
Diane: Congratulations on the interview, Martha. Sorry I couldn’t include the link.
Terry Munson in Sioux Falls says, “Once again an outstanding newsletter. Thank you for all the hard work you put into it.”
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE FAIR – THURSDAY, AUGUST 28, 2025
I’ll be speaking from the Centennial Stage at the South Dakota State Fair in Huron at 1:45 p.m. on Thursday, August 28, as a guest of Sherwin Linton. I’ll talk about Randy Travis: Storms of Life and a World War II book I edited, God on a Battlewagon. Those two and my previous five books will be available for purchase and autograph. Come to the fair if it fits your schedule. Thursday is Veterans Day, and there is no admission fee for former and active-duty military.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
I’ve known Jeannie Seely since she invited me to her house on the Cumberland River in 2000 to interview her (below) for my Faron Young biography. Twenty years later, I interviewed her about Randy Travis. (I’ll post quotes from that interview in my next newsletter.) I was planning to call her when I returned to Nashville with a new biography topic. Over the years, I visited with her several times backstage at the Opry and when she came to South Dakota for shows. We stayed in touch via email, and she often contributed to this newsletter. What a shock to read on Facebook on Friday afternoon, August 1, that she had died ninety minutes earlier. I was expecting to listen to her two days later on Sundays With Seely.
We were working one of the old package shows–which I really wish that format had not gone by the wayside. On the package show you’d have from 6 to 8 acts, and they would range from somebody brand new to the current chart toppers to the legends. We were working one of those shows, and there was always a matinee at 2 and a night show at 8, so you’d have that long period in-between with nothing to do. We were at McCormick Place in Chicago. It was bitter cold and ice, and once you got those buses in there and parked and plugged up, the best thing was just to stay there. We would gather someplace, either somebody’s bus or one of the dressing rooms, and pick and sing, and tell stories, and joke and throw ideas around–maybe sometimes even write. There’s been some good songs written in those circumstances. We were sitting around singing songs we had written. I sang Leavin’ and Sayin’ Goodbye. I remember being so excited cuz Faron was saying he was gonna record when he went home, and he was looking for stuff. I was even afraid to hope he might do it. I just kinda put it out of my mind. I was surprised when they called and said he’d recorded Leavin’ and Sayin’ Goodbye. When it won a BMI award as a writer, I wasn’t even thinking in that direction. That was not something I was hoping for. They announced who was gonna win awards, and I was booked at a club with Jack Greene in Dallas, Texas, and the club owner would not let me off for the day. I had to miss the awards. After going with my ex-husband to so many of those awards, and him getting the awards, he had to go to the awards and pick up mine.
There were changes made when I came into the Opry. There were definitely some eyebrows raised when I changed the dress code, without even knowing that I did. I moved here from LA, and the world was wearing mini-skirts, it never occurred to me not to wear one. But I’d never been to the Opry. I didn’t know nobody else had worn one, and nobody said anything. Up until then everybody dressed pretty conservatively, and the women all seemed to wear skirts and ruffles.
Dottie West and I were a little different cut in the breed, because we were so interested in the songwriting aspect of it, and the fascination of hanging out with the guys. I was totally obsessed with the business. I could not get enough of it. I wanted to see all the shows, I wanted to see everybody perform, I wanted to get to know the writers. Even before I moved here, when I was living in Los Angeles and working as a secretary at Liberty and Imperial Records, if the record producer needed some assistance at the studio at night, I volunteered. I’d do it for nothing, so that I could learn, and watch everything that was going on.
I was talking to another friend of mine about doing this interview with you on Faron. I said I really struggled with this because Faron Young is so difficult to explain to people. He was so unique in that he could be so brash and vulgar if you didn’t know him. But if you knew him, and knew really what his heart was–you’d hear people say, well, that was just Faron. You hear that all the time. There’s just no other way to say it. He would say things and do things, and–like I said–you’d get so exasperated with him. And yet you couldn’t stay mad at him. The last time I talked to Faron, I said, “Have you not gotten any of the messages I’ve left for you?” He said, “I probably got all of them.” I said, “Then why didn’t you call me?” He said, “Because I didn’t want to talk to you.” I said, “Okay. Why not?” He said, “Because you’d want me to do something, and I don’t want to do anything. You and a few others don’t seem to realize that and won’t listen to me, so I just quit talking to you.”
I remember the first tours out with Porter Wagoner. I went on the road with Porter. We were doing a Hap Peebles show somewhere out there in the Midwest. I was the only girl on the show, which was another thing during that period–you only needed one girl. Lord help us, don’t put more than one female on a show. There was this big dressing room, I suppose it was like a sports arena or something we were in–big gymnasium locker-like dressing rooms, and I’m in one huge room over there all by myself. I could hear all the guys laughing and talking down the hall. I was trying to get my nail polish bottle open. I’d run hot water, I’d done everything, I couldn’t get it open. So I went down and knocked on the dressing room door to get one of the guys to open it. Faron jerked the door open and said, “I told all you snuff queens to stay out of the halls.” He just lit into me. That was my introduction to Faron Young. George McCormick and Buck Trent and all of them are saying, “No, Faron, wait. Wait a minute. That’s Jeannie Seely. Let her come in. She’s working with us.” He said, “Who?” They said, “Jeannie Seely.” He said, “Well, I’ve heard her sing.” He looked at me, and he said, “You can’t be her. You’re not big enough. She’s got a great big voice, you’re not big enough to be Jeannie Seely.” Here’s one of my heroes shouting at me, calling me a snuff queen, and telling me to get away from the dressing room door. But then, he was real nice after that.
Some things you had to know Faron to understand. I think so often he said things to get a laugh. I understand that, because I still do. I’ll say something, maybe a cuss word, and I’m not even cussing. I just know the person listening would not expect me to say that in this situation, and that’s why I do it, because it will get a little laugh. Which has made me look like a female Faron at times. I personally like that brand of humor. As vulgar as he could seem at times, and ornery–just plain ornery–he could turn around, and he was one of the most loving people. If he was your friend, he was your friend, I don’t care how many arguments you got into, that never interfered with the friendship. He would give you anything if you needed it, there was no question, do anything for you.
Faron and Ernest Tubb told me, when I first came here, to learn to be an entertainer, not to just depend on the record. The recording was just one part of being an entertainer. The records would come and go, but if you were an entertainer, you would always work. Thank goodness I tried to take that advice, cuz I’m still working. Porter also said something in the same vein. He’s the one that told me, make sure you surround yourself with really good people. Some people don’t want anybody on the show that can sing as well as they do, but he said surround yourself with good talent.
That family feeling is there at the Opry. Jan, Jean, all the other girls at the Opry, are truly like sisters to me. We don’t always agree on everything, just like sisters, we cross paths every now and then, but boy don’t let anybody else say anything. That’s the way we all are. I have one birth sister, and the unique thing to me is that I actually have more in common with the girls–my sisters at the Opry–cuz we have the same hopes, the same dreams, and we face the same problems–challenges if you will. My sister understands to a certain degree, but there’s parts of it she can’t understand what I’m going through, because it doesn’t affect her.
MUSICIANS HALL OF FAME IN NASHVILLE (6th annual induction) – 2019 (final quarter)
Drummer Eddie Bayers formed the band The Players in 2002, with four fellow session musicians. They have played on thousands of sessions and are a newer generation of A-Team studio musicians. They released a live DVD, Live in Nashville, featuring their own performances along with guest appearances. Eddie has been honored as part of the Country Music Hall of Fame’s ongoing Nashville Cats series, a quarterly program that pays tribute to veteran musicians. Eddie is 76 years old and has a website at https://www.eddiebayers.com/. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2021.
Steel guitarist Paul Franklin began his career in the 1970s as a member of Barbara Mandrell’s road band. He later toured with Vince Gill, Mel Tillis, Jerry Reed, Dire Straits, and Chris Stapleton. He was inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame in 2000. In addition to the pedal steel guitar and lap steel guitar, Paul plays Dobro, fiddle, and drums, as well as three custom-built instruments he calls the Pedabro, The Box, and the baritone steel guitar. Paul is 71 years old and has a website at https://www.paul-franklin.com/.
Pianist John Hobbs grew up in California, where he was already a well-known session musician and music producer by the time he moved to Nashville in 1994. He worked with Vince Gill for many years and co-wrote the hit “Next Big Thing.“ He is one of “the Nashville Cats” and is 75 years old.
Guitarist Brent Mason taught himself at age five to play guitar by ear. After graduating from high school and moving from Ohio to Nashville, he was discovered and mentored by Chet Atkins. He has played on over 1,000 albums, including two of his own, and is considered one of the top ten session guitarists of all time. One of “the Nashville Cats,” he is 66 years old and has a website at https://www.brentmason.com/.
Bass player Michael Rhodes of Monroe, Louisiana, taught himself to play the guitar at age twelve. He moved to Austin in the early 1970s, then Memphis and Nashville. He worked as a demo musician before becoming a session player. Over the years, he played bass on 1,320 albums. After suffering from pancreatic cancer for several years, he died at his home in Nashville in 2023, at age 69.