The son of the star on the hit reality show “Sister Wives” has found a final resting place near his hometown in Wyoming.
“Sister Wives” is a popular reality television show that has aired for 19 seasons on TLC. It follows Kody Brown, the patriarch of a polygamist family, his four wives and 18 children.
In March 2024, Kody’s son 25-year-old son Garrison died by suicide in Flagstaff, Arizona. His mother, Janelle Brown, revealed recently that Garrison’s ashes were buried in a family plot in a small Wyoming cemetery in the Bighorn Basin.
“The Browns have deep roots in Wyoming,” Janelle said on the May 11 episode of “Sister Wives.” “Both Kody's dad and my mom are buried there, and I want to bury Garrison next to my mom."
Sister Wives In Wyoming
“Sister Wives” isn’t set in Wyoming. The show follows the Brown family as they move from homes in Utah, Nevada and Arizona.
Nevertheless, the Brown family has deep ties to the Cowboy State.
Kody Brown was born and raised in Lovell, which was also the birthplace of three of his “wives” and several of his 18 children, including Garrison.
Kody’s claims are that he’s only legally married to one woman but has “spiritual bonds” with his other wives.
“Kody actually grew up in Wyoming,” Janelle said on “Sister Wives. “My mother was married to Kody's father.”
The Browns didn’t disclose exactly where Garrison’s ashes will be buried, but Janelle’s comments reveal the likely location. When Garrison’s paternal grandfather, William Brown, died in August 2013, he was buried in Penrose Cemetery south of Byron.
Janelle described the small cemetery where other members of the extended Brown family are buried as feeling “very Wyoming.”
“You can look out and you see the mountains surrounding this big basin," she said. "The wind is usually blowing. It's just a beautiful view. It's a Wyoming view."
The ashes of Garrison Brown, son of polygamist and star of the TLC reality show "Sister Wives" Kody Brown, were buried in a small cemetery in Wyoming’s Bighorn Basin next to other members of his family. He's pictured here with mother Janelle Brown. (Janelle Brown via Instagram) 
The ashes of Garrison Brown, son of polygamist and star of the TLC reality show "Sister Wives" Kody Brown, were buried in a small cemetery in Wyoming’s Bighorn Basin next to other members of his family. (Merril Beck and Janelle Brown via Instagram)
Father And Family
Garrison Brown, the fourth of six siblings, was born in Lovell in 1998. Janelle said he spent his formative years working on the family ranch in the Bighorn Basin.
“He was very much shaped by his experiences going (to Wyoming) for the summer, working there on the ranch,” she said in the May 11 episode.
Garrison was still a child when the first episode of “Sister Wives” aired Sept. 26, 2010.
Despite growing up surrounded by his father’s family drama, Garrison found his own way by traveling the world, adopting a cat to save it from being euthanized, and enlisting in the U.S. National Guard.
Nevertheless, the Brown family noted that Garrison struggled with his mental health and resorted to self-medicating with alcohol. He also had a contentious relationship with his father, and their differences ultimately went unresolved at the time of his death.
Garrison died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head at his home in Flagstaff, Arizona, on March 5, 2024. An autopsy revealed Garrison’s blood alcohol level was 0.307% at the time of his death, nearly four times the legal limit in Arizona, concluding he had alcohol poisoning before ending his life.
"Kody and I decided that we would cremate him," Janelle said. "I knew that that's what he wanted, so we did that.”
He Loved It Here
The extended Brown Family has repeatedly shared their sorrow over losing Garrison. Nevertheless, they all seem to agree that Wyoming should be his final resting place.
Kody Brown has repeatedly stated that he wants his son to be buried with his family. He has stated that the burial will “finish the circle,” and returning to Lovell to bury Garrison will be akin to a “pilgrimage.”
"I want to take him home and I want to put him in the ground next to his grandma and grandpa,” he said.
Maddie Brown Brush, Garrison’s sister, said Wyoming was the closest thing to a home Garrison ever knew. Kody Brown has uprooted his family several times to avoid persecution, including the move to Flagstaff, where Garrison died.
“Wyoming is probably the closest place we have to roots,” she said in the May 4 episode of “Sister Wives.” “It’s home. We used to go every summer, and it was just like, you went to the ranch to learn how to work.”
Janelle said she intended to be buried in the same cemetery next to Garrison when she dies. She said that everyone agreed that burying his ashes in Wyoming was “the right thing.”
“We want to bury him in Wyoming,” she said. “It’s where our family, a lot of our family, is buried. He loved it there, so it felt appropriate. So we can wait ‘til the summer when everybody can be there, and we can really celebrate him properly.”
Contact Andrew Rossi at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
