Jimmy Dean the Sausage King Dead At 81
Jimmy Dean, famous country music star and sausage king, died on Sunday June 13th, 2010 at the age of 81 in his Henrico County, VA home. He was to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame this coming October.
The death came as a complete surprise to his wife, Donna Meade Dean, who indicated that Dean had some health problems but was still functioning well. Apparently he was eating in front of his television, perhaps watching a movie on DISH Network. Donna left the room for a bit and when she came back, Dean was unresponsive.
When Dean was a young boy, his family had been in the hog butchering business. Young Dean helped out by killing the hogs, then working with his brother, Don, to grind the meat that their mother seasoned.
It was, therefore, a natural direction for Dean to take when he started the Jimmy Dean Meat Co. in 1969 in his hometown of Plainview, TX. After just six months, the company was profitable. Sara Lee Corp. bought the company in 1984.
Dean is best known for his Grammy winning song "Big Bad John" and The Jimmy Dean show which ended in 1966. And, of course, the sausage.
