Kaitlyn Marie Brann

Kaitlyn Marie Brann, age 34, beloved daughter, sister, and girlfriend, died on May 12th, 2023 while rock climbing in Big Cottonwood Canyon in Cottonwood Heights, UT just east of Salt Lake City. Kaitlyn was belaying for her boyfriend Robert Scott “Scottie” Hogg Jr, on “Goodro’s Wall” on Storm Mountain Island at the Storm Mountain Island Picnic Area in Big Cottonwood Canyon when part of the rock wall unexpectedly came apart above them and a falling boulder struck her.

Kaitlyn was born July 7, 1988, in Minneapolis, MN to Billy Lynn and Barbara Ann (Goggin) Brann. She grew up in Erie, PA where she graduated from Mercyhurst Preparatory High School in 2006. Kaitlyn attended different Penn State University campuses and ultimately graduated from Penn State Erie, The Behrend College with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, and a Minor in Business in 2010. Kaitlyn spent years working in mental health services in Pittsburgh before moving to Salt Lake City several years ago. She transitioned careers there and began working in office management in the service industry.

Kaitlyn spent her free time in Utah hiking, biking, and rock climbing in Utah’s numerous national parks and canyons with Scottie and various friends.

Kaitlyn’s friends remember her for her boisterous personality, her outspoken and independent nature, her exuberant and infectious smile, her loud laugh, her gentle heart, and her affinity for broken things, both animate and inanimate. She loved animals, was a proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community, and was a big science fiction and comic book fan – Kaitlyn was especially known for being a “Whovian”, and her family threw her a “Doctor Who” themed Celebration of Life where she was dubbed, “The Doctor’s Eternal Companion”.

Kaitlyn’s Viewing and subsequent Celebration of Life ceremony were held at Wasatch Lawn Mortuary on Saturday, May 20th, 2023 in Millcreek, UT just outside Salt Lake City. Friends and family attended from all over the country to pay their respects, and many tuned in from around the world via a live stream, which is available for viewing for two more months. Two restaurants in Park City, UT shut down in Kaitlyn’s honor that night, and a Reception was held after the Celebration of Life at the Tekila Mexican Grill & Cantina in Park City (formerly the Blue Iguana Park City where Kaitlyn used to work) hosted by the owner, her friend/family member J.C. Martinez to whom the Brann/Hogg family are eternally grateful for his kindness and help in their time of need.

Kaitlyn was cremated following her service and her cremains returned to her loved ones with plans to both scatter them in the places she loved most as well as to inter some at Mary, Queen of Peace Cemetery in Erie, PA with her beloved stepfather Richard Heidt. Unfortunately, for the family their deaths are less than seven months apart, as Richard passed away November 1, 2022 from cancer. Kaitlyn’s picture and nametag are memorialized at the “No Name Saloon” in Park City, Utah where she had been working at the time of her death.

Kaitlyn is preceded in death by her fathers’ Billy Lynn Brann and Richard William Heidt. Kaitlyn is survived by her mother Barbara Ann Brann, sister Jessica DenHeeten, brother Dylan (Becky) Brann, sister Chelsea (Michael DeStefano) Heidt, brother Benjamin Brann, brother Nicholas Eberhardt, sister Scarlet Eberhardt, and numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Kaitlyn is also survived by the love of her life, Scottie Hogg, who credits her for saving his life as he wouldn't allow himself to go into shock hoping against hope that he could save the woman he loved. Scottie a veteran of the United States Army Rangers utilized his military training to do all he could to save her life while waiting two long hours to be rescued himself. Kaitlyn passed away peacefully in the arms of the love of her life on a quartzite cliffside overlooking one of the most beautiful canyons in Utah. The family will forever remember and always be grateful to Scottie for that.

She will be missed for the rest of her friends and family’s lives.