E-Paper
Jeannie Seely's cause of death: How did the Grammy-winning country singer die?
Jeannie Seely, known as Miss Country Soul, passed away at 85 in Nashville.
Jeannie Seely, aka ‘Miss Country Soul,’ passed away in Nashville on Friday at the age of 85. Her representative confirmed that the beloved Grand Ole Opry member died on 1 August at Summit Medical Centre in Hermitage, Tennessee, due to complications from an intestinal infection, per People Magazine.
The country legend had faced a series of serious health challenges in recent months. Earlier this year, Seely underwent “multiple back surgeries this spring for vertebrae repairs,” according to a statement released by her team. The surgeries were followed by “two emergency abdominal surgeries,” which led to a lengthy and difficult recovery.
ALSO READ| Jeannie Seely family: Who was husband Eugene Ward?
Following the hospitalization, Seely shared that she had endured “11 days in the intensive care unit and [suffered] a bout with pneumonia.”
Her death comes just months after losing her husband, Eugene Ward, to cancer in December. After marrying Nashville attorney Gene Ward in 2010, she continued to perform regularly and celebrated 55 years as an Opry member in 2022.
Who was Jeannie Seely?
Born in Titusville, Pennsylvania, in 1940 and raised in nearby Townville, Seely was the youngest of four children.
“Actually, I knew at 8 years old what I wanted to be,” she told People Magazine in 2022. “And I knew I wanted to be at the Opry.”
Listening to the radio with her family on Saturday nights, she dreamed of joining the very performers who inspired her, Roy Acuff, Minnie Pearl, Ernest Tubb, and more.
“I just wanted to know them,” she said. “I wanted to be a part of that family that I heard every week.”
Notably, her breakout hit, ‘Don’t Touch Me,’ soared to No. 2 on the country charts in 1966 and earned her a Grammy for Best Country & Western Vocal Performance – Female.
ALSO READ| Jeannie Seely net worth: Here's how much ‘Miss Country Soul’ earned?
“I was standing shoulder to shoulder in the wings with all my heroes,” she recalled in 2022. “I had never even seen them in person anywhere — even across the footlights.”
