BRASCH, Carla A. (Kristensen) 1916-2015

BRASCH, KRISTENSEN, JENSEN

Posted By: K. L. Kittleson
Date: 9/21/2015 at 17:52:37

Carla A. Brasch
Died: Feb. 16, 2015

Services:
Memorial services on Saturday, February 21, 2015, at Community Church of Hudson.

Visitation:
Friday, February 20, 2015 at Locke Funeral Home.

Cemetery:
Burial at 9:30 AM, Saturday, February 21, 2015 at Hudson Cemetery.

Biography--

Carla A. Brasch, 98, of Waterloo, died at Covenant Medical Center, on Monday, February 16, 2015.

She was born on April 4, 1916, in rural Hudson, daughter of Niels and Andora (Jensen) Kristensen. At the age of four, Carla started school and was unable to stay awake in class or understand English as Danish was spoken at home, so she stayed home one year and began schooling at five and was the youngest in her class.

When she was seven, her mother died and she and her sister, Esther, learned from a housekeeper to cook and keep house. They were expected to maintain those duties as well as help on the farm. As a result, Carla learned to be very self-reliant.

Despite home duties, Carla was active at school. As teenagers, Carla and Esther enjoyed sing-a-longs with the Danish community in the surrounding areas—Esther would play guitar and they both would sing. They later performed on a local radio talent show.

She graduated from Orange Township High School in 1933 and married Roland V. Brasch on January 23, 1938, at the Little Brown Church in Nashua. Carla was a homemaker in her own home, raising her family and farming on the family farm. Carla loved farming and being a first-hand participant in the cycle of life. From the age of eight, and with the exception of the first two years of her marriage, Carla lived on the family farm southeast of Hudson in Orange Township until she and Roland moved to Waterloo in 1995.

Carla loved music, gardening, crocheting, cooking, crossword puzzles, and watching TV sports—especially Iowa collegiate football and basketball, tennis tournaments, and Little League baseball. She was a member of Hudson Community Church, a 4-H Club leader, and a long‑time member of the Sunshine Club.

After Roland passed away in 2002, she lived independently until September 2014 when she moved into assisted living. She was a loving person with a peaceful heart. Two phrases which sum up her attitude toward life are “Where there's a will, there's a way” and “Life is what one makes it.”

Carla is survived by: daughters Eileen Gunderson of Waterloo, Joanne (Paul) Caspers of Tempe, Arizona, and Marilyn (John) Sheffels of Great Falls, Montana; son Eldon (Sandra) Brasch of Cedar Falls; six grandchildren: Quincy (Angelica) Gunderson, Brandy Gunderson, Todd Caspers, Douglas Caspers, Amanda Brasch, and Jason Brasch; and two great-grandchildren: Sebastian Gunderson and Madison Caspers.

She was preceded in death by: her parents, husband Roland, grandson Sean Gunderson, sister Esther Jacobsen, and son‑in‑law Robert Gunderson.

Source: Locke Funeral Home website