At 90, Pat Boone Is Living On His Own Following Wife Of 65 Years’ Death, Believes They Will Reunite ‘One Day’

Mar 01, 2023

While some people are gifted with big families, there are times when they end up living alone. Of course, that doesn’t mean they are loved less by the people around them. Often, it’s simply because their own children choose to finally build families of their own. Then again, living alone is not as bad as some people might think. Take it from legendary singer Pat Boone who has been living in his Beverly Hills home.

Born in Jacksonville, Florida on June 1, 1934, Patrick Charles Eugene Boone rose to fame in the 1950s. In fact, he was the second-biggest charting artist of the late 1950s and was behind only Elvis Presley, according to Billboard. But in the 1960s, he shifted to gospel music and has since become part of the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.

At the age of 23, he began hosting a half-hour variety television series called "The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom," which aired for 115 episodes from 1957 to 1960.  

Pat fell in love with his wife who also happened to be his high school sweetheart – Shirley – at the very young age of 16. He said he was always very in love with her. So when he found out that she and her family were moving away, he decided to ask Shirley’s father, Red Foley, for his daughter’s hand in marriage.

Having married Shirley at the age of 19, the couple was gifted with four daughters — Cherry, Lindy, Laury and the singer Debby Boone,  who is best known for her hit “You Light Up My Life.”

While Debby comes from a family of musicians starting from her grandfather Foley and her own father Pat, her mother Shirley also played a huge role in shaping her and her siblings into becoming musically-inclined individuals.

“My mother used to teach my sisters and me four-part harmony and have us sing for company. I got a lot of attention because I was little but I had a big voice,” Debby told Closer Weekly in August 2020. 

Back in the 1970s, Debby and her sisters formed a pop-singing group called The Boone Girls. Variety even described them as “one of the most talked-about shows of this or any other season.” Sadly, the group didn’t last long as Debby pursued her solo career while Cherry battled with anorexia nervosa.  

Despite the different challenges that came their way, Pat and his wife have maintained a strong relationship. Perhaps one of the biggest contributors to the success of their relationship is their faith, which he said led him to make the right choices in life.

“We made our commitment in marriage to God and to each other,” he told Closer Weekly in an interview in August 2020. “We make our own decisions, but we are helped supernaturally. (I’m) willing to be led in doing the right things,” he added.

Pat has always been a faithful man, with him proving how strong his faith is in difficult situations such as the time when his grandson Ryan (Lindy’s son) got severely injured following a three-story fall.

“There are consequences to actions, but God says, ‘I’ll go through it with you,’" Pat told TODAY in an interview in 2013.

"He did not even prevent his own son’s death, because there was a purpose in it,” he added.

In 2019, Shirley died after a year of battling with vasculitis. Since then, Pat has started living on his own in his home in Beverly Hills. While Pat and Shirley were gifted with 4 children, 15 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren, the former has been enjoying his life with his dog.

“I’m living here alone with a housekeeper and my dog, a little cocker spaniel. Shadow is his name,” Pat said. “It’s just me and my shadow, all alone and feeling blue,” he added.   

While he has been doing good so far, Pat admitted he misses his late wife. “I’m doing fine. I mean, gosh, I miss her,” he remarked.

In an interview with PEOPLE following his wife’s death, Pat shared how blessed he was for having been gifted with 65 wonderful years with his wife. He also said he knows that they will reunite again someday as he noted they only “changed addresses.”

"We lived a wonderful, blessed life together for 65 years. I've parted with my better half for a little while… but we don't die, we just move on to another place, and today was moving day," Pat told PEOPLE in an interview. "She's changed her address is all and moved to a different mansion that I expect to join her in one day.” 

"I'm very confident of that," Pat added. "That took the sting out of what happened today because we know we're gonna be together again and have a whole new beginning."

What can you say about Pat Boone’s choice to live life on his own following the death of his late wife? Do you also know someone who has chosen to live life on their own terms following the loss of a loved one? Let us know what you think, and pass this on to people who might find this story interesting!