Carol Omdahl, age 89, of Philip, South Dakota, died on Monday, March 3, 2025 at the Kadoka Nursing Home.
Funeral services will be held 11:00 a.m. Saturday, March 15, at Rush Funeral Home in Philip with Pastor Ray Greenseth officiating.
Interment will follow at the Masonic Cemetery in Philip. The family invites everybody to First Lutheran Church after the graveside for a time of lunch and fellowship.
Carol Joy Briggs was born to Lester and Ester (Albrecht) Briggs on December 19, 1935, in Boise, Idaho. She attended grade school in Sweet, Idaho.
In 1946 Carol and her family moved from Baker, Oregon to Cottonwood, South Dakota. She attended grade school in Cottonwood until her family moved to the ranch northwest of Cottonwood in 1950. She attended country school for one year before attending high school in Quinn.
On August 4, 1953, she married Vernon Omdahl in Pierre, South Dakota. They made their home on the ranch six miles south of Cottonwood where they lived their whole life. She brought four children into the world: Allen, Bruce, Debra, and Kevin.
Carol put her whole heart into caring for her family and working the ranch. Every spring she raised chickens and every summer she grew huge gardens. She was a wonderful cook and made the best fried chicken! Sometimes she would bring dinner down to the fields where the family was working to have picnics. When she had some free time, she loved to study the Bible, read, watch movies, knit, and go for walks. She enjoyed camping at the family’s favorite place, Deerfield Lake. The family made many wonderful memories on our camping trips. She loved to travel, especially to visit family, and has been to the lower 23 states plus Alaska and Mexico.
Aside from working on the ranch, Carol also worked at numerous places over the years: the grocery store in Quinn, Hanson Super Value in Philip, the cafe at the Husky Truck Stop in Kadoka. She received her GED and attended Western Dakota Vo-Tech’s Office Program in the 1980s. She retired from Scotchman Industries in Philip in 2005, at age 70.
Survivors include her children: Allen (Sandy) of Tucson, AZ, Bruce of Cottonwood, Debra (Jim) Chalcraft of Rapid City, and Kevin Omdahl of Rapid City; five grandchildren: Amber. David, Tyler, Travis, and Wyatt; two great-granddaughters; sister Sharon of Yakima, WA; and a host of other relatives and friends.
She was preceded in death by her husband Vern on May 26, 2020, her parents, and her brother Ben Briggs.
Mom/sister/friend will be greatly missed!
Arrangements are with Rush Funeral Home of Philip.
