Charles Allen Dick (May 24, 1934 – November 8, 2015) was an American Linotype operator who was best known as the widower of

Patsy Cline Patsy is a given name often used as a diminutive of the feminine given name Patricia or sometimes the masculine name Patrick, or occasionally other names containing the syllable "Pat" (such as Cleopatra, Patience, Patrice, or Patricia). Among I ...

Early life

Dick was born on May 24, 1934, near

Whitehall, Virginia Whitehall is an unincorporated community in King and Queen County, Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast a ...

. He later moved to

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

and worked as a Linotype operator for a local newspaper after high school.

Patsy Cline

Dick met Patsy Cline during a dance in Winchester in 1956, and they started dating. Dick married Patsy Cline in Winchester on September 15, 1957. After their marriage, they moved to Fayetteville,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, where Dick was working as a Linotype operator at

Fort Bragg Fort Bragg is a military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina, and is one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with around 54,000 military personnel. The military reservation is located within Cum ...

. They moved back to Winchester in 1959 and remained married until 1963 when Cline died in a plane crash. They had two children together, Julie Sidamore (a misspelling of Simadore) and Allen Randolph (Randy).

Later life

After Cline's death, even though money wasn't a problem as royalty checks were still coming in, Dick went back to work, this time as a record promoter for

Starday Records Starday Records was an American record label producing traditional country music during the 1950s and 1960s. History The label began in 1952 in Beaumont, Texas, when local businessmen Jack Starnes (Lefty Frizzell's manager) and Houston record di ...

, a record label that was based in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

. Dick married country singer Jamey Ryan in 1965 and they divorced in 1970, having one child together. He later took part in many documentaries on Patsy Cline. According to ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'', "Throughout his life, Dick worked to preserve the legacy of Cline." ''Wide Open Country'' called Dick "a lifelong champion of line'smusic" and "dedicated to keeping Patsy's legacy alive". ''

The Tennessean ''The Tennessean'' (known until 1972 as ''The Nashville Tennessean'') is a daily newspaper in Nashville, Tennessee. Its circulation area covers 39 counties in Middle Tennessee and eight counties in southern Kentucky. It is owned by Gannett, ...

'' referred to Dick as "a champion of her legacy for the last five decades." After '' Coal Miner's Daughter'' came out in 1980, spurring interest in Cline, Dick played a part in having her albums re-released as ''The Patsy Cline Collection'' in 1991. In 1997, he worked on the release of ''Patsy Cline: Live at the Cimarron Ballroom'', a recording of a 1961 concert. This recording placed on the Billboard Country Albums Top 40 chart. Dick died at his home in Nashville on November 8, 2015. He was 81 years old. He is buried alongside Patsy Cline at Shenandoah Memorial Park in Winchester.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dick, Charlie 1934 births 2015 deaths People from King and Queen County, Virginia