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Jeannie Seely family: Who was husband Eugene Ward?
Jeannie Seely, the country music star, died eight months after the loss of her partner Eugene Ward, who passed at 92.
Jeannie Seely, the beloved country music icon aka ‘Miss Country Soul,’ passed away just eight months after saying goodbye to her longtime partner in life, Eugene Ward.
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Who was Gene Ward?
Ward, who was 92, died in December at the Life Care Center of Old Hickory Village in Nashville following a battle with cancer. Seely and Ward married in 2010. By then, both had already lived full lives.
“My heart is broken now, but I am so grateful for the 15 years I had with Gene,” Seely told People Magazine at that time.
Ward had largely stayed out of the spotlight, now survived by the three children, Judy Olive, Johnny Myers, and Keven Ward from the previous marriage.
Before marrying Ward, Seely was married to legendary country songwriter Hank Cochran. Their marriage began in 1969 and ended in divorce in 1981.
Cochran, who wrote many hits, including those on Seely’s 1967 album Thanks, Hank!, was also instrumental in her early musical journey. But it was with Ward that she found lasting peace in her later years.
Seely, known for her 1966 breakout hit ‘Don’t Touch Me’ and her long-standing place at the Grand Ole Opry, often spoke about her personal life with humility and tenderness.
Born in Titusville, Pennsylvania, in 1940 and raised in Townville, Seely knew by the age of 8 that she wanted to be a country singer.
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“Actually, I knew at 8 years old what I wanted to be,” she told People Magazine in an interview. “And I knew I wanted to be at the Opry.”
“I was standing shoulder to shoulder in the wings with all my heroes. I had never even seen them in person anywhere — even across the footlights,” she recalled following her 1966 Grammy for Best Country & Western Vocal Performance – Female.
