Mary Jane Thomas, wife of country music icon Hank Williams Jr., dies in Florida at 58
Another tragic loss for the family of country music superstar Hank Williams Jr.
Jupiter Police Department spokeswoman Kristin Rightler confirmed that deputies responded to a medical call concerning Mary Jane Thomas, Williams’ wife, around 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Jupiter Beach Resort & Spa.
Upon arrival, they found a woman in medical distress. Thomas, whose husband once sang the old “Monday Night Football” musical cue, “All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight,” was taken to a local hospital in Jupiter where she died.
Rightler did not provide further details and said a report has not been released as of Thursday evening.
According to media reports, Thomas may have had a medical procedure before she was at the Florida spa. TMZ reported the complications “may have been a blood clot,” but that has not been confirmed and the family has not granted interviews.
The couple had lived in Paris, Tennessee, from 1990 to 2021, according to Miami Herald research — and Thomas was 58. It is not publicly known if Williams or Thomas were at the spa together nor what they were doing in Florida.
In 2011, Williams opened a televised “Monday Night Football” game with his familiar cry, “Are you ready for some football?” at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens before a Miami Dolphins-New England Patriots matchup.
Thomas married Williams, 72, in 1990. She was his third wife. The couple had two children together.
Their eldest, Katie Williams-Dunning, died in 2020 at age 27 in a car accident in Tennessee. Her husband, Tyler Dunning, survived the crash with critical injuries, Fox News reported.
Their son, Sam Williams, 24, a singer like his dad and late grandfather Hank Williams, who died at 29 in 1953, released a statement to People Magazine. In his comments, he referenced his mother’s Florida roots.
“My father fell in love with the Daytona Beach beauty the minute he set eyes on her in the early ’80s,” he wrote.
“My dear Mama Mary Jane was a beautiful soul who forever affected everyone who knew her,” Sam Williams’ statement said. “She had a smile and presence that lit up every room and she never met a stranger she didn’t befriend. Her spirit was gentle and giving. She could take down a ten-point buck and fix dinner for her grandchildren at the same time! Now she gets to radiate from above with my sister Katherine Diana right by her side.”
In August 2021, when the younger Williams released his moody debut album, “Glasshouse Children,” he tweeted that “this album was made over years of loss, change, and uncertainty.” The album includes a mournful duet with Dolly Parton in which the newcomer and the country legend sing, ”If money could buy happiness we’d be happy all the time.”
Country singer-songwriter Andrew Pope, 37, who has cited Williams Jr. as an early influence, referenced the family’s losses in a tweet. “Words just can’t describe how bad i feel for the williams family. it’s been a devastating couple of years. please say a prayer for this family. unreal.”
This story will be updated when more information becomes available.
This story was originally published March 24, 2022 at 6:29 PM.
