Loretta Lynn’s Granddaughter Dies After ‘Difficult Health Battle’: Lynn Massey Was 59

Lynn Massey, the oldest granddaughter of late country music legend Loretta Lynn, has died. Massey passed away last week following “a long and difficult health battle,” according to a statement shared to the “Coal Miner’s Daughter” singer’s official Instagram and Facebook pages on Friday. She was 59.

“Betty Sue’s daughter Lynn Massey, Loretta’s first grandchild, passed away this week after a long and difficult health battle,” the message, shred alongside a photo of a smiling Massey standing beside her grandmother’s vinyl records, read. “Our family is so grateful for the prayers and love continually shown to us.”

Massey was the daughter of Betty Sue Lynn, who passed away at the age of 64 in 2013 from complications of emphysema, per the Associated Press. Betty was the eldest child of Loretta Lynn, who married her husband Oliver when she was just 15. Together, the couple welcomed six children: Betty, Jack, Ernest, Clara, Patsy, and Peggy. Jack died in 1984 at the age of 34, according to the singer’s website.

Lynn was already a mom of four when she launched her country music career in the 1960s. The Bucher Hollow, Kentucky-born musician, the second-eldest of eight children born to coal miner Ted Webb and Clary Webb, recorded her first song, “I’m a Honky Tonk Girl,” in 1960, going on to score her first No. 1 hit in 1967. Throughout her decades-long career, Lynn became known for songs about blue-collar life and women’s issues, scoring hits with titles including “Don’t Come Home A’ Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ On Your Mind),” “You Ain’t Woman Enough,” “First City,” “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” “One’s On The Way,” “Rated ‘X,’” and “You Ain’t Woman Enough (To Take My Man).” She was the first woman named entertainer of the year at the Country Music Association Awards (in 1972) and the Academy of Country Music Awards (1975). Lynn passed away at the age of 90 in October 2022.

During her lifetime, the country music legend had 26 grandchildren, per PEOPLE. In 2016, her grandson, Jeffrey Allen Lynn, died at the age of 47. Earlier this year, Lynn’s granddaughter Emmy Russell competed on American Idol. During her time on the series, Russell honored her grandmother by singing a rendition of “Coal Miner’s Daughter” on the April 29 episode, stating in a taped package, “I love singing from the heart, and I think this is a perfect song for that. I mean, it’s my grandma’s song – can’t get much closer to the heart than your own blood.I need to be proud that I am a granddaughter of Loretta Lynn. I’m proud to be a coal miner’s great-granddaughter.” Russell made it to the top five before being eliminated.