Orenita Patricia Kerl died peacefully on January 3, 2019, at the age of ninety-two. She was born April 9, 1926 in Mobile. She will be greatly missed by Russell, her husband of 68 years, and children, Jim (Elise), Dan (Susan), Russell Jr. (Betsy), and Marie (Elizabeth). She is also survived by her grandchildren, Sophie, Christopher, Alice, Matthew, and Russell III “Trey”; sister, Yvonne Gass (Dave); and nieces and nephews. Orenita was preceded in death by her parents, Edward James Powers and Ann Elizabeth Murrill Powers, brothers Edward James Powers (Gertrude) and Daniel Joseph Powers (Reba).
Orenita demonstrated unsurpassed love and commitment for her family. Her dearest wish was to be remembered by the phrase “Wherever she went, she made a home”. She raised and cared for her sister and brothers from the age of eleven years when her mother begun working outside the home. She had a lifelong love of learning which she gave to her children. She graduated from high school at the age of 15, attended college in Mobile and Tuscaloosa, and obtained two bachelor’s degrees from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. During college in Mobile, Orenita sat next to Russell in a chemistry class. He became the love of her life, and they were married October 1, 1950 in Mobile, AL. Orenita loved being a wife, mother and homemaker, and moved with Russell to Pensacola, FL, Poughkeepsie, NY, Santa Monica, CA, and Kingston NY before the space program brought them to Huntsville in 1964. She also taught 8th grade math at Davis Hills Middle School for 5 years before one last move took them to San Jose, CA. The couple finally returned to Huntsville in retirement and enjoyed an active life of travel around the United States and world, daily visits to the gym, reading, cooking, and study. Orenita was raised a lifelong Episcopalian and helped to found two Anglican Churches in Huntsville and one in California. She never passed up an opportunity to serve through altar guild, vestry, bible study, and cooking for church functions. Church friends Hannah Martin and Fanny May Bowers were dear to her.
A funeral service will be held at 11:30am Friday, January 11, 2019 at Laughlin Service Funeral Home with Deacon George Specht officiating. Burial will follow at Maple Hill Cemetery. The family will receive visitors at 10am before the service.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the St. Charles Anglican Church, Huntsville, or a charity of your choice.
