Patsy Cline - Family

Family

Cline’s mother, Hilda Hensley, died in 1998 of natural causes at 82, while her father died of cirrhosis of the liver in the mid-1950s. Mrs. Hensley lived as an accomplished seamstress in Winchester, Virginia, helping to raise her grandchildren, and rarely granted interviews. Cline's daughter, Julie Dick Fudge, stated in 1985: "Grannie loved my mother so much that it's still hard for her to talk about (the accident)." In her later years, Hensley stated "I never knew so many people loved my daughter" about the outpouring of love by Cline's fans.

As Hilda was only 16 years older than Patsy, the two were very close. Cline commented that her mother was the one person she could always depend on, and Hensley commented that Patsy was a "wonderful daughter" who never let her family down in hard times. Cline's brother died in 2004. Her sister still lives in Virginia.

As of 2011, husband Charlie Dick resided in Nashville, producing documentaries on his late wife and attending fan functions. In 1965, he married singer Jamey Ryan, who signed a brief contract with Columbia Records before bearing a son. They divorced in the early 1970s. In the film Sweet Dreams, Ryan provided the vocals for three songs: "Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home", "Rollin' in My Sweet Baby's Arms" and "Blue Christmas" (a tune Cline never recorded).

Daughter Julie joins him in representing Cline's estate at public functions and has four children (one, Virginia, named for Cline, was killed in an automobile accident in 1994) and six grandchildren. Son Randy was a drummer for a Nashville band for a time, and Charlie's younger brother, Uncle Mel as he is known to fans, heads up the "Always... Patsy Cline" fan organization.