Sister Wives’ Kody Asked the Cemetery Sexton’s ‘Permission’ to Dig Son Garrison’s Grave

Kody Brown found a special way to honor his late son, Garrison Brown, after his sudden death.

On the latest episode of Sister Wives, which aired on Sunday, May 18, the Brown family was making preparations for Garrison’s funeral in Wyoming. One of those preparations included Kody, 56, opting to dig Garrison’s grave.

“Here’s the thing. I talked to the sexton of the cemetery, and he’s the one that would normally dig the graves,” Kody explained to the cameras, as he was shown arriving at the grave site. “I just asked him [for] permission if I could dig it. It means something to me. I don’t know why. It’s something deeply emotional.”

He did not complete the task alone. He was joined by his brother, Scott, and brother-in-law, Tim, both of whom Kody said are a part of “the men group who nurtured” Garrison “into maturity.”

Kody didn’t bring the urn that Garrison’s remains are in, which could have helped them with measuring out the grave. But the father of 18 noted that “Mitch, my son-in-law, married to Aspyn, is making something different and I don’t know what it looks like yet.”

“For the act of effort in this, because we’re not digging a grave big enough for a coffin, I’m going to make it a little bit bigger than certainly that I need for this urn,” Kody explained. “I want the experience of doing some real effort here.”

“Just trying to honor my son as best I can. I don’t even know if it’s honor. It’s mourning,” he added.

Garrison’s grave will be beside other deceased family members, specifically, Grandma Cheryl, who Kody said “probably nurtured Garrison as much as any of us.”

“I’ve never done anything like this, digging a grave,” Kody then said. “I think this is one of the most important things I’ve ever done. It’s the last ode to my boy.”

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Later, Janelle Brown revealed to the cameras that Kody — whom she separated from in 2022 — had “contacted me about being the one who does the grave.”

“I thought it was perfect,” she continued. “I think it’s symbolic and poetic and all the things to have Kody dig that hole.”

Garrison died in March 2025 at age 25. PEOPLE confirmed two months after that his death was ruled a suicide.

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Sister Wives airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on TLC. 

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.