At that place take been plenty of ups and downs throughout 11 seasons ofModern Family. Viewers accept seen the Dunphy, Delgado-Pritchett, and Tucker-Pritchett children abound upward and create lives of their own exterior of their family unit's households. And the parents have all found new ventures for the next chapter in their lives. But every bit is the case for every lifetime, there accept been a few deaths over the years that tugged on fans' heartstrings.

From pets to parents to friends,Modern Family knows how to go viewers reaching for the Kleenex whenever these three families lost someone.

7 Shell Turtlestein

Amid the three families, there have only been a scattering of pets sprinkled in over the years. Stella Pritchett is the most famed and dearest pet onModern Family simply fans tin't forget near Larry (Cam and Mitch's cat), Scout (Frank's dog), and Shell Turtlestein (Manny'southward turtle).

In the episode "Truth Exist Told," Jay hangs an inspirational poster in Manny'south room after he had a hard mean solar day at schoolhouse. While hanging the picture, it brutal into Manny's turtle's cage and killed him. Jay didn't accept the guts to tell Manny he killed Shell, and so he fabricated up a story about a ravenous raccoon. Manny wrote a very touching goodbye letter for Shell. It was so upsetting that Jay came make clean to Manny by the end of the nighttime.

6 Professor Ringmaster Al Uzielli

Cam may have grown up on a farm but he also has a passion for theatrics. He created his Fizbo grapheme in clown higher and loves to evidence him off from time to time. Sadly, in "Send Out The Clowns," Cam dressed as Fizbo for a sad occasion: the funeral of his friend and mentor, Professor Ringmaster Al Uzielli.

Cam said that Professor Ringmaster Al Uzielli was voted the #two professor under Piemaster Full general. To celebrate Al Uzielli's life, Fizbo and the other clowns lowered his catafalque into the grave and did a touching clown tribute. After his death, Cam felt inspired to teach Lily his clown ways (much to her chagrin).

five Grams

In the episode "ClosetCon '13," Mitch, Cam, and Lily were spending the summertime with Cam'south family in Missouri. Cam and Lily were loving the farm life only Mitch judged every second of it.

Cam's grandmother (aka Grams) showed up unexpectedly and met Mitch and Lily for the get-go fourth dimension. She didn't empathise or similar Cam and Mitch's relationship and hated Mitchell. Grams didn't make more appearances until her untimely death, which Mitch was later blamed for. Cameron was upset, of course, but was more sad for his mother.

4 Walt Kleezak

Walt Kleezak was introduced in the second season as the Dunphy's elderly and ill neighbour. They alluded to him being mean and distant, and so they e'er stayed away from him. Just after the Dunphys lost their baseball in his k, Luke went over to think it and formed a kinship with Walt. Claire and Phil are wary of this new friendship but trust Luke.

Due to Walt'south oxygen tank, information technology was obvious he had some serious health problems. And in "The Last Walt," the Dunphys found out Walt had a heart assail and died. Claire and Phil tried to prep Luke for this kickoff major death in his life but he didn't seem to bothered by it. He just wanted Walt's TV...

3 DeDe Pritchett

DeDe Pritchett was Jay's first wife and the mother of Claire and Mitchell. DeDe wasn't the most hands-on mother and left the family after their divorce. She was much closer to Mitchell, every bit she and Claire oftentimes butted heads, especially when information technology came to lifestyle choices. And while fans didn't meet DeDe all that much, she made hilarious appearances over the years, ofttimes causing drama.

Shockingly, in the episode "Practiced Grief," while anybody is preparing for Halloween, the family unit is stunned when they discover out DeDe died. She passed away peacefully in her slumber after suffering from a middle issue. The unabridged episode revolved around DeDe's legacy and reminiscing on old times.

2 Grace Dunphy

Grace Dunphy was Phil's loving mom. Dissimilar his father Frank, fans never saw Grace but they heard of her from all the stories Phil shared. In the episode "Goodnight Gracie," the Dunphy'southward are grief-stricken when Grace passed abroad. The entire family went down to Florida for the funeral where they had a very touching tribute that included fireworks. Seeing Phil and his begetter then shaken up was hard for viewers. Phil and Frank are two of the most positive and optimistic characters in the series, so their grief was hard to bear.

1 Frank Dunphy

The expiry of Frank Dunphy was past far the saddest death in the serial. Frank and Phil had such a shut bail and shared so many similarities. Luckily for Phil, he has the same relationship with his son as he did with his dad.

Unlike DeDe and Grace, Frank fabricated multiple appearances throughout the testify and left a shining light on his family unit. Sadly, this meant Phil was the last remaining family unit fellow member on his side. As an only child with both of his parents gone, all Phil could practise was focus on his ain family.

NEXT: Modern Family unit: 10 Things Fans Forgot About Phil Dunphy

Next Euphoria Season 2: Characters Ranked From To the lowest degree To Nigh Cluttered

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Lynn Gibbs (1585 Articles Published)

Lynn is a nomad who travels the globe on the hunt for her next adventure with her hubby. A lover of being outside (and finding the best latte in town), Lynn is typically hiking, walking, or jogging when she's not focusing on her love of writing. When it comes to shows streaming on Netflix or anything Bravo-related, Lynn's your gal.

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