His wife, Donna Meade Dean, said her husband died at their Henrico County, Va., home.
She said that he had some health problems but was still functioning well, so his death came as a shock. She said he was eating in front of the television. She left the room for a time and came back and he was unresponsive. He was81.
"He was amazing," she said. "He had a lot of talents."
He enjoyed a successful entertainment career in the 1950s and '60s that included the nationally televised "The Jimmy Dean Show."
In the late '60s, Dean entered the sausage business, it was something his family had a lot of experience with.
They had butchered hogs along with the young Jimmy whacking them over the head with the blunt end of an ax.
The two Dean brothers, Jimmy and Don ground the meat and their mother seasoned it.
The Jimmy Dean Meat Co. opened with a plant in Plainview Texas.
After six months, the company was profitable.
His fortune was estimated at $75 million in the early '90s.
In 1969, Dean went into the sausage business, starting the Jimmy Dean Meat Co. in his hometown. He sold the company to Sara Lee Corp. in 1984.
He had been the spokesman for Sasa Lee until they fired him in 2003.
He issued a statement titled "Somebody doesn't like Sara Lee," claiming he was fired because he got old.
"The company told me that they were trying to attract the younger housewife, and they didn't think I was the one to do that," "I think it's the dumbest thing. But you know, what do I know?"
Sara Lee has said that it chose not to renew Dean's contract because the "brand was going in a new direction" that demanded a shift in marketing.
Having watched other stars waste away their money, Dean said he learned to be careful with his money.
"I've seen so many people in this business that made a fortune," he told the AP. "They get old and broke and can't make any money. ... I tell you something, ... no one's going to play a benefit for Jimmy Dean."
Dean said then that he was at peace at his estate and that he had picked a spot near the river where he wanted to be buried.
"It's the sweetest piece of property in the world, we think,"
"It sure is peaceful here."
