Alaskan Bush People Season 13: Brown Family Lays Patriarch Billy to Rest in Emotional First Look

The Brown family is dedicating the next season of Alaskan Bush People to late patriarch Billy Brown, PEOPLE can exclusively announce.

Billy died on Feb. 7 after suffering a seizure. He was 68. In a first look at the upcoming season 13 of the family's Discovery series, Billy's wife Ami Brown, daughters Rain and Snowbird and sons Bear, Matt, Bam Bam, Gabe and Noah reflect on his legacy.

"Dad always told us one day we'd have to carry on without him," begins Bam Bam, 36. "But we weren't ready for him to go."

The clip then cuts to Gabriel, 31, calling 911. "This is Gabriel Brown — just send an ambulance," he says.

"Looking back, Dad knew his time in this world was coming to an end, and we can see now he was laying out a plan for us, preparing us to achieve the vision," adds Snowbird, 26. "If only we understood his plan sooner."

"Life now is unlike anything we've faced before," she continues. "We'll never give up our fight for total freedom, but can we do it without Dad?"

Discovery

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"It's a defining year for the Browns as Billy's final vision to realize the family dream becomes their biggest adventure yet," a narrator says as the trailer pivots to the months leading up to Billy's death.

"I'm ready to start thinking like we used to think, you know, let's get some craziness out here," Billy tells his family at one point, as clips roll of him building a zip line, searching for gold and working on the family's Washington state ranch after it was destroyed by wildfires.

Snowbird, meanwhile, begins thinking about returning to Alaska. "I find myself hearing the call of Alaska," she says, later adding, "It's hard answering, do I want to move back?"

Discovery

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Everything else is thrown to the wayside, though, when Billy dies and the family must lay him to rest.

"He really was my best friend," Rain says. "He was there for me like nobody else ever was."

"We all have to find our peace with what's happened somehow," adds Ami, 58.

"There's still a part of me that feels really lost," Snowbird says through tears to her mom, who advises, "You have to go where the road calls you."

Season 13 of Alaskan Bush People premieres Sep. 19 on Discovery and discovery+.