Pioneer Woman star Ree Drummond’s brother Michael has died, the cooking expert and other family and friends reveal. He was 54 years old. The cause of death remains unclear at the moment.
“It isn’t possible to sum up the life of someone as perfectly wonderful as my brother Michael, so right now I won’t try,” Drummond wrote in her Facebook tribute, sharing the news with her followers. “He was seventeen months older than me, my first friend and buddy, and I’m so grateful for over 50 years of photos and memories.”
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“Please pray for my parents, whose devotion to Mike was boundless, and who will feel this loss most acutely,” she added, before closing with, “Michael Smith, you were everything,” she said.
Their sister, Betsey Smith, also posted a touching message in honor of her late brother. “We lost Michael, my sweet and wonderful brother, this last weekend,” Betsey wrote in her Instagram post. “He was one of a kind, and he will be missed by so many people who loved him.” She added: “I’m very thankful for his life, the connections he made and his caring, fun and independent spirit. Love you forever, Mikey.”
The loss was echoed among his hometown community in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. His longtime friend Dan Dalton shared some fond memories of his pal, the “Bartlesville icon,” with the local news station.”Mikey made a very big impression on everybody in Bartlesville. He was liked by everybody. Everybody knew him,” Dalton told KTUL. “He met friends everywhere he went. He went to all the basketball games, all the football games, all the baseball games — not to really watch the games, but to connect with people.”
“He would routinely visit the ambulance station, the fire stations,” Dalton continued. “He’d help us wash cars, clean the ambulances, restock the ambulances, whatever he could do. … He had uniforms and hats from almost every station that he visited.”
“We went out to dinner several times, even went on trips together. He became a very close friend,” he added. “Everybody he met was a friend. He knew their phone numbers, he kept contact with them almost every day. He had an amazing ability to remember people’s phone numbers.”