Eric Church confirmed on Monday, July 2, that his brother, Brandon Church, had passed away, with his official fan club site sharing the sad news.
“It is with great sadness to confirm that Eric’s brother, Brandon, passed away on Friday evening,” the website read. “In lieu of flowers we are encouraging everyone to donate to a Scholarship Memorial Fund created on Brandon’s behalf. You can leave a message that will go via email directly to Ken and Rita.”
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Brandon, 36, leaves behind one daughter.
After Brandon’s death, TMZ spoke to his father, Kenneth, who shared that Brandon had a seizure at his home in Granite Falls, North Carolina on Friday. While he was being transported to the hospital, he suffered another, which reportedly sent him into cardiac arrest.
Kenneth added that Brandon had been having seizures in recent years.
A law enforcement source shared that they do not suspect foul play as a factor in Brandon’s death, the cause of which is believed to be natural.
The memorial fund set up in Brandon’s name has received over $16,000 in donations as of Tuesday afternoon.
“This loving memorial is set up to honor Brandon E. Church, beloved son, brother, father and friend,” the memorial’s description reads. “In lieu of flowers, please pay forward a gift that will keep on giving to others through furthering their education. The Brandon E. Church Memorial Scholarship Fund will be used to bless others and honor a benevolent life. Thank you for showing your love and support to the Church family.”
Brandon and Eric collaborated on a few songs early in Eric’s career, including “How ‘Bout You” from Eric’s 2006 album Sinners Like Me in 2006 and “Without You Here” 2009’s Carolina. The brothers also played at a bar together when Eric was in college, releasing an album with two of Eric’s roommates and dubbing themselves the Mountain Boys before the star struck out on his own.
“Once I got to year two, I went and saw some guys play at a local bar … and this place was packed,” Eric told CMT.com of the band’s time together. “I’d been playing guitar in my room, and I knew … maybe half the songs [the band] did live. I just had the idea, ‘I can do this.’ I went back and got my brother and two college roommates who happened to be musicians. And the next week we had a gig.”
Photo Credit: Getty / Erika Goldring
