Iowa Public Radio

Edith Renfrow Smith made history and championed education in her 111 years

This Iowan was the first Black woman to graduate from Grinnell College. She lived to be a supercentenarian, dying in 2026.
ourgrinnell

Finding His Way Beyond Iowa—and Back Home

That pull back to Grinnell ultimately brought Smith home—both personally and professionally. He returned to work with his ...

20-year-old college football player dies suddenly

College football player Ethan Walker, who played for Iowa Central Community College, has died while vacationing in Florida.

Edith Renfrow Smith, who witnessed more than a century of Black American history, dies at 111

Edith Renfrow Smith grew up in the 1910s hearing her grandparents’ stories of surviving slavery, including a grandfather who ...
ABC Kcrg 9

Grinnell College to launch new scholarship program for top Iowa students

GRINNELL, Iowa (IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH) - Grinnell College is launching a new scholarship program aimed at Iowa’s high-performing students. The private university announced the new Iowa Dean’s ...

Edith Renfrow Smith, a ‘memory keeper’ and living link to history, dies at 111

Donation Options Search Search Search Edith Renfrow Smith, just before her 110th birthday, when she baked a cherry pie at her ...

Grinnell's first Black woman graduate Edith Renfrow Smith dies at 111

Edith Renfrow Smith, a supercentenarian born the granddaughter of slaves and who lived through the administrations of 19 U.S. presidents, died Friday.