Alan Jackson fan Mary Ann "Marie" Gallant of Auburn, Maine, who died in May 2021, will be remembered at the singer's AJ's Good Time Bar in Nashville, Tennessee, with a special display.
Videos by Wide Open Country
According to the Sun Journal, Gallant was passionate in her love for Jackson — so much so that she had his likeness tattooed on her shoulder. And the singer himself knew of Gallant and was grateful for her fandom. In 2015, she experienced what she called the happiest night of her life when Jackson invited her to sit onstage while he performed on his Keepin' It Country tour in Portland. The singer even danced with her during his performance of his 2003 song "Remember When."
Gallant was such a fan of Jackson that it was her wish for her ashes to be "spread over Alan Jackson's house" when she died. Earlier this month, Gallant's daughter, Sue Castle of Gardiner, Maine, flew to Nashville to somehow make her mom's dream a reality.
Castle admitted to the publication that she wasn't sure how she would achieve this goal — possibly by helicopter or simply spreading the ashes out of a car window near his property. She also hoped to come across someone who would let her place the ashes in a set location. However, when she arrived in Nashville, she was met with a different — but equally honorable — solution.
Castle had brought with her a display showcasing her mother's love for Jackson. It features a small figurine, meant to represent Gallant, at the wheel of a 1965 Mustang with photos of the Maine native and Jackson surrounding it. After Castle landed in Music City, a music producer who had heard her story offered his support. Castle then went to Jackson's bar, where she met with the manager, who also knew the details of her quest. The team at AJ's Good Time Bar then found a prominent place to put the display honoring Gallant.
"It was amazing. We had a really good time," Castle said, adding that the attention to her mother's story "helped my heart."
Castle opted to return to Maine with her mother's ashes, and she plans to create a space at her home with the ashes and a bench that will serve as a place of reflection about her mother.
The bar manager also shared that Jackson remembered Gallant and said Castle could eat and drink for free whenever she was in town.
Gallant died May 28, 2021, at the age of 80.
