Connie M. Randa

Connie Randa passed away June 6, 2025. Visitation will be from 10 to 11 a.m. at Saint Anthony Catholic Church in Des Moines followed by a funeral mass at 11 a.m. at the church. Entombment will take place at Resthaven Mausoleum in West Des Moines.

Connie Randa was many things to many people. Behind her grace and beauty was a dancer, whose life may have begun in Sweden, but her springboard in America was the dance floor where she was a “Starlet” at MGM (Metro Goldwyn-Mayer) Studios during the Golden Age of Hollywood. Her role as the Primary Dancer for the Tito Puente Latin Jazz band won her high acclaim as a performer, tall, beautiful and dazzling. She performed at the legendary Fontainebleau in Miami Beach and other legendary nightclubs and entertainment venues before moving to Des Moines where she met her husband, Gary. Most importantly, she was the loving mother to her son, Ricky, whom she adored and who was always there for her.

Yet her dancing career, “once a dancer, always a dancer”, gave way to another form of dance. One that involved a horse name Sundance, that nurtured her love of horses, which found expression in the establishment of Sundance Farms. It was here, as co-owner and trainer, that she devoted years of her life to the care and wellbeing of dozens of horses. Her love of animals didn’t stop at the equestrian center, it naturally brought her to become actively involved with PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) where she engaged in protests and demonstrations against animal cruelty and once dressed as a bunny at the Iowa State House to protest animal testing on cosmetics. She even looked after an abandoned baby bear named Betty.

Together Connie and Gary worked at the family-owned, Rite Beverage Company founded by August and Helen Randa in 1945. She later joined Gary in a real-life version of “Smokey and the Bandit”, bootlegging Coors Beer to states East of the Mississippi.

Above all, what we will remember most about Connie was her sweet and loving nature, her boundless love for animals, and her unwavering commitment to being true to herself. Her 53-year marriage to Gary was the pinnacle of love in her life, as together they created a beautiful life together. Gary’s love, dedication and devotion to her health and wellbeing extended their years together as a couple totally committed to each other.

The love Connie shared lives on in our hearts, inspiring us to believe in the future and cherish the memories she left for us to treasure.