LITTLE ROCK — Edith Powell Kersenbrock Schroeder

died peacefully in her sleep on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2020, at the age of 99. She was born Sept. 2, 1921, in Thomas County, near Colby, Kan., in a prairie “Soddy,” a house made of slabs of thick grass, roots and soil stacked like bricks.

She grew up on a farm, lived through the Great Depression and moved to Northwest Arkansas in 1940 with her husband Morris Stanley “Bud” Kersenbrock. They lived on a farm near Springdale, Ark., and raised grapes, cattle, and chickens. Not only did she feed chickens, and harvest grapes, she also worked in several Springdale dress shops, later retiring from Dillard’s in 1983. She was fiercely independent, unfailingly honest, always perfectly dressed and had the “can-do” attitude of those who grew up in the Depression. She was an expert in making do with what she had or doing without. She was the epitome of the solid “pioneer stock” of the era in which she was born and raised.

Edith was preceded in death by her parents, John Powell and Dollie Elizabeth Rikoff Powell and her husband Morris S. “Bud” Kersenbrock. She was also predeceased by her husband, Otto Schroeder; brothers Burt, John and Darrell Powell; and sisters Ruth Edds, Arlee Terinan and Rachel Keck.

Survivors include her only child, Dennis Kersenbrock and his wife Marlane McLain; granddaughter Mistie Hill; great- grandchildren Sarah Cavin and her husband Tyler, Hamilton Hill and their father John Hill. Special nieces surviving are Dollie Fowler, Betty Keck and, Janice Stewart.

Special thanks and appreciation to Mrs. Essie Davis, her caregiver, as well as the staff at Parkway Health Center.

A private graveside service will be conducted Tuesday, Oct. 13, at 11:30 a.m. at the Lutheran Cemetery in Springdale, Ark.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Christ Lutheran School, 315 S. Hughes St., Little Rock, Ark., or a favorite charity.

Online obituary at www.SmithFamilyCares.com .