Loretta Lynn's Siblings: Then and Now

Loretta Lynn has been an icon of country music for going on 60 years. The coal miner's daughter has multiple gold records and Grammys to her name and, along with country stars like Dolly Parton and Patsy Cline, is one of the first women of the genre and a member of both the Grand Ole Opry and The Country Music Hall of Fame. Heck she's even won a Presidential Medal of Freedom. She is a country legend. Full stop. But don't worry, she's "still a mountain girl." And a honky tonk girl. And the Van Lear rose. Lynn was actually born Loretta Webb on April 14th, 1932, in the small town of Butcher Hollow, Kentucky, the oldest daughter of Melvin "Ted" Webb (her coal-mining father) and Clara Marie "Clary" (née Ramey). Though Loretta Lynn may be the most well known of the Webb clan, and the only one portrayed by Sissy Spacek in a movie, she isn't the only member of it, or the only famous one! Turns out she is one of eight! And several of Lynn's siblings have made names for themselves and all of them have interesting life stories. Melvin Webb Jr. (December 4, 1929 – July 1, 1993) Loretta Lynn was the second oldest sibling in the Webb family. Melvin Junior, named for his father, of course, was born first in the old Butcher Holler. Melvin married Bonnie Faye Webb and had nine (wow) children with her. Junior had more than a proclivity for procreation in common with his father, unfortunately. Melvin Webb Jr. died relatively young, at the age of 63, just like Melvin Sr., who passed away from black lung at the age of 52. Herman Webb (September 3, 1934 – July 28, 2018) Loretta Lynn just recently lost her nearest kid brother, Herman, who was born two years after she was. He passed away in 2018 at the age of 83. Herman stayed close to home after growing up, making a life in Van Lear, Kentucky. Herman also curated the Butcher Hollow homestead where he and his siblings grew up. The home was made famous by Lynn's song, "Coal Miner's Daughter", giving tours to the thousands o