Janelle Brown’s Bittersweet 55th Birthday: Navigating Grief After Son Garrison’s Passing
Janelle Brown Celebrates 55th Birthday Two Months After Son Garrison’s Death
Janelle posted a photo of herself in front of a birthday cake with candles on top to her Instagram Stories on Sunday May 5
Janelle Brown is marking a milestone two months after the death of her son Garrison Brown.
The Sister Wives star celebrated her 55th birthday one day early on Sunday, May 5 with a birthday cake baked by her daughter, Madison Brush.
“A LITTLE RED FACED FROM WORKING IN THE GARDEN,” she captioned a photo of herself sitting in front of a chocolate cake adorned with candles that spelled out “Happy Birthday.”
The birthday was the first Janelle celebrated since the death of her son Garrison Brown at age 25 two months ago. Garrison died on Mar. 5 in his Flagstaff, Arizona home.
At the time, Lieutenant Charles M. Hernandez II of the Flagstaff Police Department confirmed to PEOPLE that officers responded to a “report of a death inside a home,” and that Garrison’s brother Gabriel “discovered Mr. Brown deceased” in an apparent suicide.
Janelle and his father Kody, 55, later confirmed the news in a joint statement on Instagram, writing in part how they were “deeply saddened to announce the loss of our beautiful boy Robert Garrison Brown.”
About a month before her birthday, Janelle marked what would have been Garrison’s 26th birthday on Instagram on Wednesday, April 10.
“Happy Birthday Sweetheart. We are missing you terribly today. It’s hard to believe you aren’t here anymore,” she captioned a video montage featuring Garrison blowing out candles on birthday cakes through the years and photos of Garrison as a young boy.
“We talked a lot about you today and even went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner (your favorite place 😀), the mother of six continued in her caption.
“I still feel you nearby sometimes. And I’m grateful we will see each other again when my journey is completed.”
Janelle has been sharing some of her grief journey on social media and spending a lot of time with her children and grandchildren since Garrison’s death. She recently gave her followers an update on the fate of her late son’s cats on Instagram in a post that featured a carousel of images of the beloved pets.
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“Garrison’s cats, Catthew and Patches are thriving at Logan and Michelle’s place,” she said, referring to her eldest son and daughter-in-law.
“Ms Boots is living her best life with Aspyn and Mitch. It was awesome that we could continue to take care of them like he would,” she added, referring to Christine Brown’s eldest daughter and her husband took the third cat.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org.