Bonnie Ahlstrom’s passing was documented on the latest episode of Sister Wives and her daughter Meri Brown reflected on the “heartbreaking” ordeal.
As Monsters and Critics reported, Meri’s beloved mother, Bonnie, died suddenly and unexpectedly in March 2021 at the age of 76.
During the September 25 episode of Sister Wives, viewers watched the scene as Meri received the heartbreaking news.
Meri had received a call that her mom was ill and rushed to try and make the five-hour drive from Flagstaff, Arizona to Parowan, Utah in the hopes of seeing her mother one last time before her passing.
Unfortunately, Meri didn’t make it in time and she tearfully shared the news during a tearful car segment.
Following the episode, Meri took to Instagram where she reflected on the day she got the call that her mother passed away.
Meri Brown reflects on Sister Wives episode documenting mom Bonnie’s passing
Meri shared a photo of herself and Bonnie – who was the innkeeper at Lizzie’s Heritage Inn until her death – standing on the front porch of the B&B.
The 51-year-old TLC star told her followers that although she didn’t watch the episode, her memories from that day are indelible.
“Being alone in my car and on the way to her, praying I would get there before it was too late, was hard enough as it was, but then to get the call that she had passed was truly heartbreaking,” Meri wrote in her lengthy caption.
Meri thanked her fans for reaching out and showing their support along with words of kindness.
Doting on her mom as “TRULY a one of a kind human,” Meri recaptured Bonnie’s happiness as she lived out her last years as the innkeeper at Lizzie’s Heritage Inn.
Meri said she hopes to carry her mother’s spirit with her at the B&B, continuing to welcome its guests with open arms and the same warmth with which Bonnie greeted them.
Meri honors late mother Bonnie at Lizzie’s Heritage Inn
When Meri reopened Lizzie’s Heritage Inn following the height of the coronavirus pandemic, she announced that she had dedicated one of its rooms to Bonnie.
The Grandma Room, as Meri named it in honor of her mom, boasts a framed photo of Bonnie on the wall. As another way to honor her mother, Meri fashioned some of Bonnie’s favorite LuLaRoe shirts – the Randy T – into memory bears for Bonnie’s grandchildren as Christmas gifts.
Bonnie was a polygamist like Meri, and like Meri was Kody Brown’s first wife, Bonnie was Meri’s father, Bill Barber’s first wife.
Sister Wives airs on Sundays at 10/9c on TLC.