The Tragic Death Of Ree Drummond's Brother, Mike Smith

Ree Drummond, known as "The Pioneer Woman," has always been open about her deep love for her closest friends and family members The Food Network star has a big heart, and she loves to spoil those close to her, including her siblings.

Drummond grew up in Oklahoma with her parents, sister Betsy Smith, and brothers Doug and Mike Smith. Betsy has appeared on "The Pioneer Woman" a number of times. Then there's Drummond's brother Mike, who had special needs, according to KTUL. "Mikey" appeared on "The Pioneer Woman" a couple of times, and Drummond wrote on Facebook how one of those cameos was her "favorite episode...for obvious reasons." And during Drummond's 2013 visit to Tulsa, Mikey tagged along and stole the show, detailed Tulsa World. He led his little sister to the stage and she referred to him as "my brother, my best buddy." Mikey told the attendees, "I got stories on my sister. When I was a little kid, she would come in my room when I was asleep and put lipstick on me." He added he was "a ladies man" and signed a few of his sister's books at the event. 

Sadly, on November 3, Ree Drummond took to Facebook to share the news about Mike's death.

"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," Ree Drummond's heartbreaking post began. Drummond shared several childhood photos showing her with Michael and closed the post by writing, "Michael Smith, you were everything." On November 2, Drummond's sister Betsy Smith acknowledged Michael's death on her Instagram page. "We lost Michael, my sweet and wonderful brother, this past weekend." She added, "He was one of a kind, and he will be missed by so many people who loved him."

Bartlesville, Oklahoma resident Dan Dalton noted on Facebook Mike was "well known by almost everyone in Bartlesville" and according to the Examiner-Enterprise, Mike was living at the Bartlesville Assisted Living facility when he died. Dalton noted that his "personality just allowed him to get into places... Over 40 years he built a huge friend-base." In addition, the Bartlesville Professional Firefighters Union shared on Facebook that Smith typically "called us twice a day every day to just check in," adding he was "one of a kind." They also shared a photo of Mike, explaining it "was from the last time we let him cook for us" as they teased, "It only got a little bit smokey that evening." 

It's clear Drummond's brother was beloved by nearly everybody he met and will be greatly missed.