Who Died on ‘Sister Wives’?

Who died on Sister Wives is something people ask about Kody Brown and his family. Here is who the Browns lost over the years during the TLC show.

Who Died on Sister Wives? First Family Tragedy Was Kody Brown’s Brother

Through the years, Kody Brown and his extended family suffered many tragedies. We’ll take a look at them all. The first death that occurred during the taping of their TLC series was Kody’s brother.

Winn Brown and his wife Genielle Brown had ten children. Curtis was born almost nine years after Kody. They were full-blood siblings. Curtis’ wife was Erica Brush, sister of Caleb Brush, who later married Maddie Brown.

The family tree overlaps a lot. So, Maddie, daughter of Kody and Janelle Brown, married Caleb, whose sister married Kody’s brother. It can get confusing to track it all.

Brother Curtis appeared with the Sister Wives star Kody Brown on Season 4, Episode 7 Brown Boys Do Vegas in 2012. Curtis was born on September 24, 1978. Motorcycles were a passion of his life, as was his family.

He and Erica had three children between the ages of 7 and 12 when he passed away. Curtis Brown died from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident on June 17, 2013, and was buried on June 22, 2013.

Curtis Brown was eulogized on the same episode as his father in season 6 as they died just a few months apart.

Family Patriarch William Winn Brown Died in 2013

Season 6 of the TLC series delivered plenty of bad news. In the same episode that Kody Brown’s brother Curtis was eulogized, so was the family patriarch – Kody Brown’s father (Winn Brown)

William “Winn” Brown was born on August 28, 1934. He’d appeared on Sister Wives Season 2 Episode 2 Free Range Browns. He had 10 children — Cindy, Scott, Lorilyn, Kody, Christy, Tricia, Curtis, Travis, Nicole, and Michael.

It’s unclear whether all of them were born to his first wife Genielle Brown. But Curtis’ obituary credited seven of the children to wife one. Winn turned to polygamy later in his life.

Then, he married Bobbie Jean Rodgers Brown, and later Sheryl Lee Usher Brown (wed October 24, 1992). Back to the intersecting family trees, Sheryl was Janelle Brown’s mother.

Winn led a pretty exciting life. He was an Army Ranger and paratrooper who survived a near-death scare with a malfunctioning parachute. He was a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and graduated from Brigham Young University.

From 1970 until his death, Winn lived on the expansive Double Dollar Ranch (more than 1450 acres) owned by their family for five generations. His family called him “a true cowboy,” and he passed at the ranch he loved. All three wives survived him.

Winn Brown died on August 24, 2013, and was laid to rest on what would have been his 79th birthday. The Brown family memorialized Kody’s father and brother on Sister Wives Season 6 Episode 17, Tragedy in the Family.

Meri Brown Lost Younger Sister Who Died Young

Meri Brown’s lost two of her siblings to date. The first to pass was Teresa Barber Kunz, her younger sister by two years. Teresa was born May 2, 1973, and died young at 32 on February 6, 2006. Her family buried her five days later.

Teresa married her husband Jeff Kunz in 1996 and died a decade later. She left four children behind. Big sister Meri shared that her sister died of colon cancer less than a year after her diagnosis. Meri often mentioned the sister she lost.

In early episodes of Sister Wives, Meri Brown talked about cancer and shared the importance of colonoscopies. All the siblings had polyps removed which may have saved them from the same fate as Teresa.

Teresa was also in a plural marriage at the time of her death. She was a second wife and passed away at home with her family around her. Her big sister often reminisces about how much they loved to visit Disneyland together — a tradition Meri continues today.

Sister Wives: Meri Also Lost a Brother and Nephew

Meri Brown’s suffered several losses during the taping of their TLC series. Meri is Kody’s first wife and owner of the bed and breakfast, Lizzie’s Heritage Inn.

Her nephew, Brady Barber Laws, passed at age 22. No cause of death was given, but he died in Rollins Brook Community Hospital in Texas.

He was the son of her older brother Marc Barber. Brady was born January 12, 1987, to Marc and his then-wife Cristy Merrill Barber. In 2000, after his parents’ divorce, Brady moved with his mother at age 13 to Lampasas, Texas.

He lived there until the time of his death. He’d taken his stepfather, Tony Laws’ last name. His obituary called Tony his father but acknowledged Marc as his biological father. Brady died May 9, 2009, and was laid to rest a week later.

His father, Marc, died six years after his son. Meri’s older brother was born June 29, 1967, and died March 10, 2015. He was 47 at the time. Meri said her mother, Bonnie Ahlstrom, called her at 2 am with the news.

She didn’t say how he passed, only that he was in emotional and physical pain. It sounded like a mental health issue, but nothing was confirmed. When he died, Marc had nine living children and six grandchildren. His obit called him a “cowboy at heart.”

Sister Wives: Meri Brown Loses Mother Bonnie Ahlstrom — Dad Passed Years Before

Meri Brown lost her father, Bill Barber, a few years before their TLC show began. His obituary is full of good humor. It said he was born, grew up, got married, and worked hard. Then it added that he worked hard because he had a lot of kids.

Then they had more kids and are still having kids. The father of Sister Wives‘ Meri also said he “wanted us to have a party, then he died”. So, they had a party apparently. They held a viewing and funeral in Sandy, Utah, but the event sounded both festive and sad.

Meri’s dad was born on November 9, 1942, and died on September 5, 2007. Her mother outlived him by 14 years.

Bonnie Ahlstrom was running Lizzie’s Heritage Inn in Parowan, Utah with her daughter Meri Brown when she died suddenly. She had seven children of her own. Bill had 18 other children with his four other wives.

Meri’s full-blood siblings from Bonnie and Bill were Adam, Teresa, Deborah, Rebekah, Marc, and Elaine. Teresa and Marc, as mentioned above, passed. Her sister died a year before their father. And her brother died years after.

Bonnie buried two of her children before she passed on March 26, 2021. She was born on March 9, 1945. Bonnie Ahlstrom appeared on several episodes of Sister Wives, including Season 15, Episode 7, Birthday Breakdown when she stayed with Meri in the pandemic.

Another Death — Janelle Brown’s Mom, Sheryl Lee Brown, Died Too

Janelle Brown, like Meri, has also lost both of her parents. Her father, Robert Schriever, died tragically young at the age of 28. His dying so young is why she only has one full-blood sibling — Carrie Schriever — who’s two years younger.

He was born December 4, 1943, and died June 3, 1972, when Janelle was just three years old. Three years after he passed, her mother, Sheryl Lee Schriever married a widower named Merlin Fryer who had two little girls. They raised all four girls together.

But then Sheryl and Merlin divorced. Two decades after her first husband died, Sheryl married Kody’s dad (yes it’s true), Winn Brown on October 24, 1992. She was one of three wives (the other two were Genielle and Bobbie) with whom she remained close after he passed.

Seven years after her husband died, Sheryl Lee Brown succumbed to a long illness. She was too ill for Janelle to move her mother to Flagstaff. On December 7, 1944, Sheryl was born and passed on December 7, 2020, her 76th birthday.

Her funeral featured on Sister Wives Season 16 Episode 9, The Teflon Queen as the subject of an argument. Kody wanted to limit who attended Sheryl’s funeral because of COVID. Christine Brown defied him and went anyway. But Robyn and Meri obeyed his ban.

Who Else Died on Sister Wives? Robyn Brown Lost Spiritual Father & Half-Brother

As of this writing, Robyn Brown’s mother, Alice Sullivan is alive. But in 2022, Robyn lost the man she considered her father, although he was technically her stepfather, Paul Sullivan, Sr.

At the time of Paul’s passing, he was married to Robyn’s mom Alice (his second wife) and his first wife Carol Sullivan. Her dad appeared on Sister Wives prior to his death. And his passing may well be featured on the upcoming season since it’s so recent.

Five years before her father passed, Robyn also lost her half-brother Paul Sullivan, Jr. Her brother was the youngest of her father’s eight children. Paul Jr was just 22 when he died. He’d served in the National Guard and was in college studying Psychology.

Paul Sullivan Junior was born on August 25, 1994 and he passed on April 4, 2017. Almost five years later, his father followed him.

Paul Howard Sullivan, Sr was born September 8, 1941. Robyn took his name after her mother married him. Her biological father is Robert Marck. They divorced when she was nine.

After their split, her mom entered into a plural marriage as Robyn did when she divorced her first husband, David Jessop. Paul Sullivan Sr. died February 22, 2022, but both his Sister Wives outlived him. He had 8 children and 33 grandchildren — five from Robyn.

He had 17 great-grandkids. Despite being a polygamist, his visitation and funeral were at a traditional LDS church in St. George, Utah. To date, Christine Brown is the only of the Browns to have both her parents alive – Rex Allred and Ruthann Allred.

Sister Wives: Gabriel Brown Discovers Garrison Brown Dead

Janelle Brown and Kody Brown both announced the death of their son on 3/5/2024 on their individual social media accounts. The Sister Wives’ parents asked for privacy during this time. Police report that Gabriel Brown, 22, discovered his brother’s body at his home in Flagstaff. So, he then called Flagstaff Police and reported the death.

The authorities issued a statement that they do not expect foul play. Reports indicate he died from a single gunshot wound to the head in an apparent suicide.

Garrison moved out of Janelle’s home a while back after he saved the money to purchase his own home. He is one of six children for Janelle and 18 for Kody Brown.

Garrison was often seen in his mom’s posts, hanging out with his siblings. And he always had a big smile on his face. Janelle Brown wrote:

“Kody and I are deeply saddened to announce the loss of our beautiful boy Robert Garrison Brown,” the shared post read. “He was a bright spot in the lives of all who knew him. His loss will leave such a big hole in our lives that it takes our breath away. We ask that you please respect our privacy and join us in honoring his memory.”

Garrison was 25 years old, and fans may remember him more recently for all the confusion around the COVID rules. And he had a strong opinion, as well as his brother Gabriel Brown when it came time to navigate life through the strict rules set forth for the family.

That’s who died on Sister Wives, as of this writing. Get more news on TLC reality shows from Soap Dirt.