Johnny Paycheck’s Widow Sharon Has Passed Away

Johnny Paycheck’s widow, Sharon Paycheck, has passed away. She was 79 years old.

The news was shared in January on Instagram by the “Take This Job and Shove It” singer’s and Sharon’s only son, John. “With an extremely heavy heart and tears in my eyes I have to make this statement. My mother, Sharon PayCheck passed away last night,” John wrote, alongside a photo of him and his mother. “She was in her home lying with her puppy who faithfully stayed by her. She was 79 and would have been 80 this April.”

“This has been so hard and maybe more than I thought it would be,” John continued. “Mom was having a hard time and her health was declining in the last year but rapidly over the last few months. It all just moved so fast. I am so incredibly fortunate that she was able to make it out for one last Christmas with all of us. That was such a good day for her. Last I talked to her she mentioned she really missed dad. Twenty years he has been gone and she always mentioned him and wished he was still with her. I hope she is with him now.”

“I dont know what tomorrow looks like at the moment,” John added. “I wish I just had one more day with them both. I know everyone in our house is heartbroken at the moment and just trying to figure out what is next. With both my parents gone now it is a terrible feeling, I’m just trying to make sense of things.” As John noted, his father Johnny Paycheck — real name Donald Eugene Lytle — passed away more than two decades ago, in 2003.

Down in the post’s comments, many of John’s followers shared sympathy for the loss of his mother, with one writing, “Jonathan, I’m so sorry I know what it feels like to lose. Your mother is in my prayers for you and your family.” Someone else added, “Terribly sorry to hear this. Completely understand the feeling and know how bad it hurts. Stay strong and know that there are many people whose love, thoughts and prayers are with you.”

Another follower offered, “Keeping you in my prayers. There is an old Irish saying about losing a loved on, ‘how we shall laugh at the trouble of parting when we meet again.’”

One final Johnny Paycheck fan wrote, “So sorry my friend, my wife and I send our deepest sympathies and condolences. Godspeed ma’am.”