Ask Ausiello: April 1, Ralph Waite's Passing

Question: Unless I missed it, I do not think Bones addressed the passing of Ralph Waite (who played Booth’s grandpa). Do you know if they ever intend to do so? —Adrienne
Ausiello: You did not miss it. “We struggled with that this season and, the truth is, the timing always seemed wrong because we were off the air,” exec producer Stephen Nathan laments. “We were so far ahead in episodes that to do that seemed more exploitative than respectful, and we just didn’t want to use Ralph’s death in that way. We loved him and he was a tremendous part of the show, but we didn’t want to use him.”

Source: TV Line