Memorial
Mary Kay Maiers-Bran, 67, of Solon, Iowa went home to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on September 14, 2026, at home surrounded by her loving family. A visitation will take place on Friday, October 23rd from 3PM to 7PM, and a Celebration of Life service will take place on Saturday, October 24th, at 10AM with a luncheon to follow. Both will be held at Antioch Christian Church, 433 Cross Rd, Marion, IA.
Mary was born April 17, 1959, to Leon and Harriet (Wegmann) Maiers of Holy Cross, Iowa. She graduated from Leo High School in Holy Cross in 1977 and Loras College in Dubuque in 1981 with a degree in Education. After college, she spent a year teaching English in Japan and then worked as a counselor at Camp Courageous. She taught in Algona, Ia before moving to the Iowa City area. She then met Sam Bran and they were married on July 4, 1992. After completing her Master’s Degree in Special Education in 1993 from the University of Iowa, she went on to teach Special Education at Southeast Junior High.
After homeschooling her own children for 16 years, she continued her love of helping others by working as a supervising teacher and librarian at the Marion Homeschool Assistance Program for 20 years. Mary enjoyed traveling, feeding and watching birds, listening to For King & Country and Christian music, she loved spending time with her family and friends, and was thrilled to become a grandma. Most important to Mary was her faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and it was her deep desire to share her faith with all those around her.
Memorial donations may be directed to the family in care of Farmers State Bank:
Sam Bran C/O: Farmer’s State Bank
Attention: Shannon Morris
2755 Edgewood Rd. SW
Cedar Rapids, IA 52404
She was preceded in death by her parents Leon & Harriet Maiers; her parents-in-law Lidia (Arrazate) Bran and Dario Bran; brother-in-law Milt Hughes; numerous aunts & uncles; and a nephew, Austin Gaul. Mary is survived by her husband, Sam of 34 years; son, Jacob (Christina) Bran; daughter, Sarah (Travis) Caldwell, granddaughters, Eleanor Bran and Samantha Caldwell all of Cedar Rapids; sisters, Rose (Ed) Bracken of Iowa City, Jan (Doug) Brimeyer of Jackson, WY, Carol (John) Eubank of Urbandale and Jean (Mark) Gaul of Farley; uncle, Ralph Wegmann of Farley and aunt, Patricia Maiers of Dubuque, along with many nieces, nephews and cousins.