Modern Family doesn’t waste any time getting right to the character death on the Oct. 24 episode. In the first few moments of the episode, Claire, Mitchell, and Jay all get a call from Jerry. He breaks the devastating news that DeDe, played by Cheers icon Shelley Long, is dead. Claire and Phil embrace while dressed up as a spider and fly for Halloween.
The family comes together in the wake of DeDe’s death on Halloween. Initially, there’s no word about how DeDe died, but Jerry did note that DeDe had a heart problem she didn’t want to talk about. Jay stops by and pays tribute to his ex-wife in his own way. “She was a good woman, and she had… great legs,” he says.
The family deals with DeDe’s death in different ways. Haley stuffs her face with candy, while Luke pulls out a life-like doll of DeDe that she gave the grandkids. Alex, dressed as Ruth Bader Ginsburg, tells them all to get their act together and “show some respect” towards DeDe. Later, Alex and Bill hookup in her bedroom. Haley and Luke accidentally walk in on them! Awkward!
Phil and Cam mourn the loss of DeDe as well. “I can’t believe she’s gone,” Phil says. Cam adds, “I’m going to miss her.” Back at the Dunphy house, Claire admits to Mitchell that she’s feeling guilty. “Sometimes I was as mean to her as she was to me,” Claire says. Claire notes that when Jay dies, he’ll know how much she loves him. “I’m not sure mom knew that,” she continues. Mitchell comforts her. Claire realizes that she has a final voicemail that DeDe left her a few days before she died. DeDe apologized to Claire for losing her temper. “I love you, and I always will,” DeDe said. Claire sheds a few tears. Jay, Claire, and Mitchell are all there for each other in their grief. In the final moments of the episode, the family learns DeDe passed away peacefully in her sleep. Modern Family airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on ABC.