Loretta Lynn’s granddaughter dead ‘after a long and difficult health battle’
Lynn Massey was the first grandchild for the ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter’ singer
Country legend Loretta Lynn’s eldest granddaughter, Lynn Massey, has died at 59.
The official social media pages for the late singer shared the news of her death, along with a photo of Massey.
“Betty Sue’s daughter Lynn Massey, Loretta’s first grandchild, passed away this week after a long and difficult health battle. Our family is so grateful for the prayers and love continually shown to us.”
A representative for the family confirmed the news to Fox News Digital, saying “we can confirm that Lynn, the daughter of Loretta’s oldest daughter Betty passed away this past week. Lynn was the eldest grandchild. She was only 11 months younger than Loretta’s twin daughters.”
Massey was the daughter of Betty Sue Lynn, the first of her six children with husband Oliver “Doolittle” Lynn, who she married at age 15.
Lynn and Oliver’s other children include Clara Marie, Ernest Ray, twins Peggy Jean and Patsy Eileen, and their son Jack Benny, who died in 1984 from drowning after having gone missing while horseback riding on her Hurricane Mills ranch.
Betty Sue died at age 64 in 2013, from complications of emphysema, near her mother’s ranch, per The Associated Press.
“Our family is so grateful for the prayers and love continually shown to us.”
Lynn, who died in 2022 at age 90, had a total of 17 grandchildren and four step-grandchildren.
One of her granddaughters, Emmy Russell, competed on “American Idol” this year, making it to the Hollywood rounds.
It wasn’t her first time performing though, as Lynn would often bring Russell on stage when she still did concerts.
During an appearance on Southern Living’s “Biscuits & Jam” podcast, Russell said, “”Memaw [her name for Lynn] passed down her guitar to me when I was 15 at the Ryman Auditiorium. She said ‘You’re the one that can do it.’ She always thought I had this spark about me ever since I was a little kid. She felt she needed to give me the guitar as the torch in a way.”
At the 2023 CMT Music Awards, Russell told Fox News Digital her grandmother’s best advice was “to love God.”
“She was such a lover of God and I think it was more of, ‘Listen to him and follow his voice.’”
