‘Alaskan Bush People’: Billy Brown’s Daughter Rain Brown Speaks out After His Death

Alaskan Bush People star Rain Brown remembered her father, Billy Brown, as a “true friend” and asked fans to keep her family in their thoughts and prayers. Billy died on Sunday night after suffering a seizure, Brown’s older brother, Bear Brown, announced on Instagram Monday. The Discovery Channel, which airs Alaskan Bush People, also announced the patriarch’s death. He was 68.

“I lost a true friend,” Brown wrote, alongside a photo of herself with her dad and mom, Ami Brown. “Not forever, but only in this world. Please hold my family in your thoughts and prayers, especially my mother. Please hold your family tight for me. Words cannot express how wonderful he was and is. But I will say, the closest thing to an angel I’ve ever known. God bless you da I love and miss you dearly. You will always be my hero. God bless everyone.” The 18-year-old Brown, born Merry Christmas Kathryn Raindrop Brown, is the youngest of Billy and Ami’s seven children.

Billy suffered a seizure Sunday night, Bear revealed on Instagram. He said the family will “honor his legacy going forward, and to continue with his dream.” In its statement on the heartbreaking news, Discovery called Brown a “trailblazer, a lovely man, and most definitely one of a kind.” The network added, “Our heart is with his family and those that knew him and loved him as they deal with this devastating loss.”

Alaskan Bush People launched on Discovery in 2014 and finished its 12th season in October. Although Discovery has not made a formal announcement, Bear told fans last week there will be a new season, likely featuring Billy’s last episodes. When the show began, the family was based in Alaska, but they later moved to a homestead in Washington State after Ami was diagnosed with cancer. In August, the family said their property was damaged during the Washington wildfires.

In an October interview with PopCulture.com, Brown’s sister Bird Brown said they were still evacuated and it was not clear when they would be allowed back home. Still, Rain said there was reason to be optimistic because no one was hurt. “We definitely did get some damage, but not all hope is lost,” she said. “It’s a time to stick together.” She later added that there has been “a lot of hugs, a lot of conversation, being there for one another and just sticking together.”

In that same interview, Bird Brown noted that air quality was a big concern for her father. “I feel like they’re always the anchors,” Bird said of their parents. “They’re always assuring us that things are going to be OK, even when we want to assure them things are OK.”