The Duck River ran through the land Loretta Lynn bought to keep her family close. On July 22, 1984, that river took the life of her eldest son Jack Benny Lynn.
Jack was never interested in the spotlight. While his mother filled theaters across America, he worked as a blacksmith and cared for the horses on the family ranch. He preferred the quiet rhythm of farm life over applause.
Loretta once said he was the child she felt most sentimental about.
Jack was the child I felt most sentimental about.
On that fateful day, Jack set out on horseback to cross the rain-swollen Duck River. He was 34 years old. He never made it home. Searchers later recovered his body from the river on the family property.
Loretta was not at the ranch. She was on tour and recovering in an Illinois hospital after collapsing from exhaustion. Doolittle traveled from Tennessee to tell her the news in person. Her daughter Patsy later remembered her reaction.
She tore to pieces. They were very close.
The land that Loretta bought to hold her family together became the place that took her son. Fame had taught her how to survive public pressure and endless touring, but it could not teach a mother how to bury her boy.