Last week, we reported that Alaskan Bush People star Ami Brown is grieving the sudden loss of her estranged mother.
Unfortunately, Ami’s estrangement from her extended family did not end with her late mother’s passing.
Apparently she — like the rest of the Browns — was a no-show for own mother’s funeral.
The memorial service for Earlene Branson took place over the weekend.
RadarOnline reports that Ami Brown did not show for her mother’s funeral, and neither did anyone else from her side of the family.
Ami’s brother, Les, informed the tabloid of all of the details.
"The service for my mother was very low-key but beautiful," Les shared.
He is still grieving the loss of his mother.
"The Browns," Les reveals. "Did not show up."
Ami has been estranged from her mother and brother for a long time, despite some plans to reconnect — plans that never came together.
Even so, memorials are often where even bitter relatives come together.
Les shares that this was not the case when his mother was laid to rest. He says that he saw no sign that Ami even cared.
"There was no card," Les reports.
"Nor," Less says, was there "any sympathy shown whatsoever."
It is generally traditional to purchase a bouquet of flowers if you have the cash but cannot attend the memorial.
Sometimes, even corporations will buy a floral arrangement for a former employee’s wake.
Despite years without any real contact, Ami’s brother still wants to try to reconnect — even though it is too late for their late mother.
"I would love to see her," Les admits.
Les wants to see her in person "and tell her that I love her," he shares.
"And," Les concludes, he wants to tell her "that I have missed her."
We don’t know that she’ll read what he had to say, but we hope that she knows.
We would of course never judge anyone for cutting off contact, in the past or present, with a toxic adult relative.
Families are incredibly complicated, and some people’s gripes with parents are extremely justified.
We don’t know everything behind Ami’s estrangement from her folks.
However, one source of conflict between Ami and her mother (and brother) is known: Billy Brown.
When Ami was 15, she ran away with Billy — who was, at the time, about 26.
Yikes.
Not only has this been a sore point for her family, but to this day, Les holds Billy accountable for the continued estrangement.
Of course, as saddened as Ami must be by her mother’s death, the Browns have something more positive on their minds.
Noah Brown will soon welcome an Alaskan Bush Baby — that is, a baby.
He and his wife, Rhain Alisha, whom he married just a few months ago, are expecting their first child.
Ami is of course excited about being a grandmother to what’s sure to be a precious baby.
We only wish that Earlene Branson had lived to learn of the news.
Would it have been nice if Ami and her family had shown up for the memorial?
Maybe.
Or maybe it would have been more awkward than skipping it.
There’s a lot of lost time, and tensions can run high when tragedy strikes.
They may have feared that, in the eyes of some, they would not have been welcome because they waited too late.
We hope that one day, at least, Ami’s children can connect with their cousins.