Facebook/Holly Singletary Holly pictured with her husband in November 2017.
Country singer Daryle Singletary is survived by his wife of 14 years and their four children. The singer passed away suddenly on February 12 at around 5 a.m. at the age of 44 in Nashville, reports WKRN. Since 2004, Daryle had been married to Holly Mercer. WKRN says in their report that Daryle had just played his first show of 2018 on February 9 at the World Famous Rodeo Club in Dadeville, Albama. He had recently told Grand Ole Opry, “We’ve been very fortunate to stay on the road, year in, year out,” he says. “I continue to work and continue to build a fan base. There are still people out there who want to hear traditional country music. I’ve been fortunate to be able to always keep it real and not have to compromise. I can’t ask for nothin’ better, I don’t guess.” A cause of death has not been made public. In a statement, McAlpin Entertainment, “Completely heartbroken to learn of the passing of our friend Daryle Singletary this morning. He was one of the best men we’ve had the privilege to meet and work with in this business, both professionally and personally. Please keep Daryle’s wife, Holly and their four young children in your prayers.”
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Holly & Daryle Had Their First Date in a Grocery Store
Facebook/Janis Holton
The couple married in August 2003. Holly was a surgical nurse at the time of their nuptials at the Lovely Lanes Chapel in St. Simons, Georgia. Shortly after their wedding, the couple launched a children’s retail store, TaterBugs, in Mount Juliet, Tennessee. Speaking to the Nashville City Paper, Holly admitted she didn’t care for Daryle upon their first meeting. Holly said, “I didn’t really like him at first. But it turns out that he was just shy, and later he admitted to me that he was sort of intimidated because he really like me a lot.”
In the same article, when Daryle was asked if it was love at first sight, he teased, “Yes! She took one look at me and knew she couldn’t live without me!” Holly then expanded on their first date, which took place in a grocery store: “Believe it or not, Daryle and I went grocery shopping! We were going over to a mutual friend’s log cabin to hang out for the day and needed provisions. So we were going up and down the aisle of the store trying to get to know each other – and not very successfully either.”
2. Holly Insisted Her Attraction to Daryle Had Nothing to Do With His Fame
Facebook/Janis Holton
Holly told the Nashville City Paper that she didn’t know who Daryle was when she first met him. Holly says she was more into Fleetwood Mac than country music. When asked what made her fall in love with him, Holly said, “Some people might think it’s because of who he is in the music business. Actually, I didn’t even know who he was. I listened more to stuff like Fleetwood Mac and pop music. I know when our friends fixed us up, they showed him my picture, so he knew what I looked like. I guess everyone just assumed that I knew who he was. We had talked a lot on the phone, but that was it. So when we were sitting around the table with our friends in the cabin that night, Daryle played “I Let Her Lie.” I recognized the song so I asked who had recorded it. When everyone started laughing at me, that’s when I found out who he was. I was so embarrassed. So it really had nothing to do with him being a country artist.”
3. Despite Being a Qualified Nurse, Holly Refers to Herself as a ‘Decorating Enthusiast’
On her Facebook page, Holly writes that she is a “Wife, mom of four, decorating enthusiast, coffee drinker, sweet tea lover, Jesus follower.” Holly adds that she works as a design consultant for Twin Creeks Farm Interiors in Lebanon, Tennessee. According to her LinkedIn profile, Holly graduated from Valdosta State University before working at Emory Healthcare in Atlanta in the operating room from March 1998 to February 2000. From there, Holly went to work at Saint Thomas Health in Nashville from February 2000 until September 2006. Presently, Holly works as an Alere Clinical Consultant in Nashville, having joined the company in May 2011.
4. Their Kids’ Birthdays Are All Within the Same Month
Facebook/Holly Mercer Singletary
In October 2010, Holly gave birth to the couple’s first children, twins Mercer Ellis Singletary and Jonah Michale Singletary, in Nashville. Daryle told The Boot at the time, “We were hoping for one boy, but to have two boys, that’s just double the trouble. I am happy to carry on my last name with two sons now.”
Nearly exactly two years later, the couple welcomed a daughter, Nora Carolina Singletary. Taste of Country reported at the time that Nora had been born two weeks early. Daryle told the website, “She’s been born for only six hours, and she’s already got me wrapped around her little finger. She is absolutely perfect!” Taste of Country added that the couple’s twin boys wore “Big Brother” T-shirts at the Nashville hospital where their sister was born.
Their second daughter, Charlotte Rose Singletary, was born in September 2014. Daryle told Taste of Country upon her birth, “She’s our little blessed surprise. And just like our other kids, we think she’s perfect. We are in love all over again.” When announcing Holly was pregnant again, Daryle said, “Just when you think you’ve seen it all and most of it you’ve lived well, the good Lord shows out once again with blessing No. 4. Holly and I feel so blessed and honored to be welcoming our new addition.”
5. Daryle Was Previously Married to Mindy McCready’s Roommate
The marriage was Daryle’s second. In 1995, he married fellow country singer Kerry Harvick after a four month engagement. Harvick was roommates with late singer Mindy McCready. The Tennessean reported in 1997 that Daryle had dedicated his album, All Because of You, to Harvick. Daryle told the newspaper, “Nothing was really happening for me and I was just really down when I met my wife Kerry. Then it was like I did a big 180 degree turnaround. I dedicated the album to her, like, Thanks. All Because of You I’m doing better now. She has been my saving grace.” The marriage ended in divorce in March 2002.
Harvick has since remarried to another country singer, David Kersh. When Daryle first met Harvick, she had been dating Kersh. The couple lives in Comanche, Texas. In March 2005, Harvick posed in a raunchy shoot for magazine FHM. Five years later, Harvick appeared in the first season of controversial reality show, Bad Girls Club.
