Brandi Kit McCauley

Brandi Kit McCauley (56) passed away surrounded by her loving family on November 19, 2025, in Des Moines, Iowa. A visitation will be held at the Blank Park Zoo Discovery Center ( 7401 SW 9th St, Des Moines, IA 50315) at 1:00 p.m. with a Celebration Of Life to follow at 2:00 p.m. on December 14, 2025. Memorial contributions can be made to the Blank Park Zoo-Iowa Wildlife Exhibit, in memory of Brandi McCauley.

Brandi Kit McCauley was born on February 2, 1969 at Madison County Hospital in Winterset, Iowa to Richard and Susie (Waltz) McCauley. She was a little mite weighing in at 5 lbs, 5 oz. and had a slow start in life. She didn’t walk until she was two years-old and that’s about when she decided she had a lot to say too. 

As the daughter of a career army veteran, she attended many schools throughout her life and graduated from Glen Burnie High School, Glen Burnie, Maryland, Class of 1987. She worked at various retail stores, a vet clinic, and was married to Brian Howard. 

In September of 1993, she survived a serious auto accident and stopped walking. But that didn’t stop her, she was on a roll. After her divorce, with the help of a Village, she attended Drake University, learned to drive and graduated with a degree in Journalism. She then worked at KCCI-TV for 9 years and later decided that the Blank Park Zoo was the place she wanted to be, from the train at the bottom of the hill, to membership at the top, and all of those zoo animals to talk to in between. 

She was the strongest and bravest person we’ve ever known. Brandi is survived by her parents, Dick and Susie McCauley, niece, Gabrielle Buchholz (Otto) and great-niece, Lea Marie, aunts, uncles, and cousins, Bailey, Harper, and all of those critters, and interlopers at the zoo.