Brian Jazz Spain

Brian Jazz Spain, 29, of West Des Moines, Iowa, died on Wednesday, December 15, 2021 peacefully surrounded by friends and family. A celebration of his life will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, December 19, 2021 at McLaren’s Chapel in West Des Moines with a time of sharing at 4 p.m.

Brain was born on October 16, 1992, in Phoenix, Arizona to Brian and Ann Spain. He loved animals and nature. Brian had several pets throughout his life and truly loved them all from his dog Cody to his tarantula. Other pets included: rabbits, fish, turtles, tortoises, lizards, snakes, cats, dogs, a rat, scorpions, frogs, toads, and birds. He brought home at least one critter a month begging to keep it. One day he caught a duck while he was fishing. He put it in the bathtub until he could get help releasing the hook from the poor ducks face, then returned it to the lake across the street where he often went fishing. There was a community pool in our neighborhood and every year a duck would have her ducklings by the pool. When the mom took the ducks into the pool, they could not get out. So Brian and his friend Buster would build a ramp every year to help the ducklings get out of the pool. When he was about 10 years old he attended Zoo Camp. He worked with a team to reconstruct the otter enclosure/habitat and he helped repair tortoise shells that had been damaged. He really enjoyed going to camp that summer and felt very proud about helping animals. He loved his daughter very much and will continue to love her and watch over her. They shared a love and knowledge for animals and movies. She loved helping him feed his lizards and had fun going to reptile shows together. Brian played soccer and football when he was younger and enjoyed being on the teams. His other passions included fishing, water sports, skateboarding, doing tricks on his many bikes, movies, and music. His favorite actors, growing up, were Tom Hanks, Adam Sandler, Jack Black and Will Farrell. He often quoted the funny lines from their movies. Some of his favorites were: “Now that’s some high quality H20.”, “O’Doyle Rules!”, “Scuba Steve”, “Hey Mom! Can we get some meatloaf? What is she doing back there? I never know what she’s doing.”, “Your my boy Blue!” and many more. His father, also Brian Spain, died when he was 2 and the Lion King was a popular movie at that time. He often said “Hakuna Matata” which means no worries, and he would hold Phoenix up in the air and sing the Circle of Life which was very funny and meaningful. He had a great sense of humor! Brian had a heart as big as the moon and his memory will live on with the stories and memories from each and every one of you.

He is survived by his daughter, Phoenix Jazz Spain; mother, Ann (Mark) Zenti; grandmother, Janet Elquest; girlfriend, Brianna Coleman; grandparents, Curt and Ann Will; his daughter’s mother, Heather Moore (Michael); aunt and uncles Sara (Nathan) Davis, Matthew (Kelly) DeFord, and Clint (Courtney) Will.

Memorials may be directed to Furry Friends in West Des Moines.