Photo: Instagram
He died in his sleep.
By Amy Lamare — Written on Jun 04, 2019
UPDATE June 4th: The results of Troy Dean Shafer's toxicology report are in and as the Eerie County Coroner's office suspected, the Nashville Flipped star's cause of death was due to combined drug toxicity. It is unclear what drugs were in his body. He was found dead in his Eerie, Pennsylvania home.
Troy Dean Shafer, the likable star of the DIY Network's Nashville Flipped, has passed away. He was just 38. He died in his sleep on April 28th, according to his brother Tim. An obituary in the Erie Times-News stated that he died in unexpected circumstances. He was originally from Harborcreek, Pennsylvania. Troy is survived by his parents Timothy and Janey Shafer, his brother Tim, his niece Samantha, cousins, aunts and uncles. How did Troy Dean Shafer die?
1. He was from Pennsylvania
Troy graduated from Harbor Creek High School in 1999. He attended Penn State's Behrend School of Business. According to his obituary, Troy loved the music of Elvis Presely and Huey Lewis and The News. He loved to golf and enjoyed spending time with his cat Marlow and his dogs Theo and Frankie.
2. Nashville dreams
Shafer moved to Nashville a decade ago to pursue a career in country music. When he first moved to Nashville, Troy sang with his friend Billy Falcon. To make ends meet, he decided to rely on his background in construction and began flipping houses. He soon figured out that he had a talent for restoration and founded his company Nashville Flipped, which focused on restoration work on historical homes.
3. He was married ... we think
Troy Dean Shafer married Becky Haynes in Nashville, Tennessee on March 22, 2014. She is not mentioned in his obituary and the last photo of her on Shafer's Facebook page is from 2017. Becky works for Vanderbilt University in Nashville. In a March 2017 interview, he said one of his favorite things to do with his wife was to watch This is Us. He also mentioned that his favorite party was his wedding reception: "Happiest day of my life — family and friends from all over the country came to Nashville to celebrate Becky and me."
4. His transition to TV
One day, Troy Dean Shafer met American Pickers co-host Mike Wolfe in a Nashville parking lot that inspired him to leave his country music dreams behind and pursue a career in reality TV. Shafer got his start flipping houses in Nashville on a project with his dad that cost $31,000 in 2009. In 2016, he spoke about how he had a number of offers to do his own TV show, but many of them were looking for drama and a character. He told The Nashville Ledger: “They were looking for some over-the-top drama, and I get it. That makes good TV, and that’s the way a lot of house flipping shows are, but that’s definitely not me. I’m not dramatic and even if I was, I wouldn’t go on TV and broadcast it, because the show may last one year, but I need this company to last. I want to pass this down to kids. I don’t want anyone thinking anything other than who I really am.”
5. A toxicology report will be performed
The Nashville coroner confirmed that an autopsy was not performed but a toxicology report will be finalized in a few weeks. The coroner said, "In this case, we have a strong suspicion that drugs were involved so we will be conducting a toxicology. At this time, no initial cause of death has been reported. The toxicology report should take about two more weeks until those results are in.”
6. Statement from the DIY Network
Troy's Nashville Flipped ran on the DIY Network in 2016 and 2017. There were 17 total episodes. The DIY Network issued a statement following Shafer's death: “The DIY Network family is sorry to hear about the passing of Troy Dean Shafer, a dedicated, driven entrepreneur and restoration expert who was admired by everyone who worked on the series Nashville Flipped,” executives at the popular channel said in a statement. “We continue to extend our deepest condolences to Troy’s family and friends during this difficult time.”
Amy Lamare is a Los Angeles based freelance writer covering entertainment, pop culture, beauty, fashion, fitness, technology, and the intersection of technology, business, and philanthropy. She is deeply devoted to her chocolate Labrador and an avid long distance runner. You can find her on Instagram and Facebook.