Finding Joy and Peace at the Zoo

There’s a special bench in front of the orangutan exhibit at the Phoenix Zoo. It’s there in memory of a young man who loved the Zoo and all its animals, especially the primates. He faced challenges in his life, but coming to the Zoo and watching those orangutans play made him laugh.

His mother started taking him to the Zoo in a stroller when he was 6 months old. And, as the years passed, he thrived on the Zoo’s children’s programs. He visited the petting zoo and gained confidence in himself as he cared for the animals there. As an explorer scout, he participated in an overnight stay at the Zoo and wowed the veterinarian with his knowledge of the bats they were observing that night. He became a ZooTeen and always came home saying, “We did some amazing things at the Zoo today.”

His name was Cody Meckstroth, and he was not alone in his love of the Zoo. His mother, Cyndi DeBoer, was with him every step of the way. It wasn’t always easy. Cyndi worked for a doctor who introduced her to EMT training. She took the training, knowing that she would need it. Her beloved son, Cody, had epilepsy. He would need care and Cyndi would be ready to provide it.

Cyndi was a divorcee, and then, as she says, met the love of her life. His name was Terry DeBoer. He was a Vietnam veteran and a Lieutenant with the Arizona Highway Patrol, serving in both the Show Low and Phoenix communities And he had strong ties to the Phoenix Zoo. His father had helped build the original barn on the Children’s Zoo in the 1960s, and Terry himself had been a ZooTeen Volunteer.

“We had so many happy times at the Zoo,” Cyndi says. “Our support of the Zoo has always been a family affair, spanning several generations.”

Cyndi is now a member of the Antler Society and has chosen to include the Zoo in her estate plan.  She and Terry often talked about including the Zoo in their estate plan and she is honoring those discussions, and stresses she is doing it for her family, all of whom loved the Zoo so much.

Her son, Cody, passed away quite unexpectedly when he was 26 due to complications of epilepsy. Her husband, Terry, is also gone, but he loved to take Cyndi on cruises. Now she cruises with good friends. “And sometimes I see Terry out of the corner of my eye on the ship’s deck,” she says.

And the special bench? Cyndi has one wish: “Next time you visit the Zoo, come rest on the memorial bench that has Cody’s plaque on it.”

Cody found peace with himself, his family and the animals around him at the Phoenix Zoo. His mother, Cyndi, hopes her ultimate gift from her estate will help other families find that same joy and peace. “And maybe,” she says, “those families will also laugh while they watch the orangutans play. There is such joy there.”

To learn more about ways you can honor a special someone through your gift to the Zoo, please contact Liz Toth at ltoth@phoenixzoo.org or 602.286.3881.