Ree Drummond’s career has blossomed over the past ten years, moving beyond her Pioneer Woman blog and books to her well-liked Food Network TV program of the same name.
Nevertheless, the well-known chef and married mother of four, who routinely makes an appearance on shows like The Today Show and The View, has experienced serious personal anguish in recent years.
Continue reading to find out what is known about her older brother Michael Smith’s tragic passing.
Michael Drummond passed away on October 30, 2021, at the age of 54.
Although close friend Dan Dalton wrote in a social media obituary that Michael “gone fast and did not suffer,” his cause of death was never revealed.
On November 2, Dan was the first to announce about Mike’s loss on social media, even though Ree Drummond’s sister Betsy also did so via an Instagram post.
The Food Network celebrity remembered her brother on Facebook a day later.
After Mike passed away, the cookbook author shared a statement on social media about his passing.
Michael Smith, you were everything, Ree wrote on the Wednesday following his death.
I won’t attempt to summarize the presence of someone as marvelously attractive as my brother Michael at this time, she said. He was my first and best friend, and because he was 17 months older than me, I’m grateful for more than 50 years’ worth of photos and memories.
The 54-year-old said, “Please pray for my parents, whose loyalty to Mike was unwavering, who will feel this loss most profoundly.
Michael Smith, often known as Mike to his friends and family, was the older brother of Ree Drummond, a popular Food Network personality. Ree and Mike were two of the four kids who were reared in Bartlesville by their parents.
In his hometown of Bartlesville, Oklahoma, Michael, who had special needs, was well-liked and had a deep interest in the work of the local first responders.
After learning of the 54-year-passing, old’s the Washington County Emergency Management Agency wrote a eulogy for him, calling him a “legend and icon” who “would be profoundly lost and always remembered.”
The Bartlesville Professional Firefighters Union said they would miss their friend Michael Smith and acknowledged that he was “one of a kind” in a memorial.
Michael was also well-known to Ree’s readers due to his appearances on The Pioneer Woman on the Food Network and regular mentions in her blog entries.
Betsy, the younger brother’s sister, also posted a statement on social media when Mike passed away.
We lost Michael, my gorgeous and great brother, this past weekend, she wrote on Instagram.
He was special, and countless admirers will miss him. I’m thankful for his life, the connections he made, and his independent, joyous personality. You have my undying love, Mikey.
