Rickie Dianne (Ommen) Karns, loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister and aunt, passed away peacefully on Monday, February 1st, 2016 at the age of 71 while visiting her daughter in Phoenix, AZ.

Rickie was born in Chamberlin, SD on December 4, 1944. As a young girl, her family moved west and Rickie was a longtime resident of her beloved Black Hills of South Dakota. Rickie grew up in the small town of Central City and graduated from Deadwood High School in 1963. There she met her high school sweetheart, Larry Karns and they were married in Lead on June 20, 1964. After their wedding, they moved briefly to Pagosa Springs, CO where Larry worked for the forest service. They then moved to back to the Black Hills in Rapid City, SD where Rickie became the catering manager for Howard Johnsons. They then moved to Spearfish, SD to raise their young daughters. Rickie was a skilled office manager and committed civil servant, working for the Lawrence County Public Health Office and later the Lawrence Sheriff's Department. In 1985, Rickie and Larry purchased and operated Karns Machine Shop where Rickie worked as the office manager until November, 1999 when they sold the business and retired.

In the years that followed, they enjoyed splitting their time between the beauty of the Black Hills in the summer months and their home in Phoenix, Arizona. Rickie loved spending time with her grandsons and daughters and countless friends. You could always find Rickie at her favorite spots spending time with the people she loved and making everyone laugh. She was devoted to her family and was the matriarch of every holiday and get-together. In June of 2014, Rickie and Larry celebrated 50 years of marriage. Rickie's quick wit and laughter will be missed immensely by her family and many friends.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Audrey and Richard (Dick) Ommen, a daughter, Lisa Fay Karns, a brother U.S. Marines Private First Class, Peter Ommen, and a sister, Lonna (Ommen) Holland. Rickie is survived by her loving husband of 51 years of marriage, Larry; daughter, Crystal Karns, of Spearfish, SD; daughter, Kari (Karns) Yatkowski and her husband Paul Yatkowski of Phoenix, AZ; and three grandsons, Griffin Crown and twins, Tate and Tyler Yatkowski, all of Phoenix, AZ. She is also survived by a sister, Rita (Ommen) Snow and her husband Jim, of Sun Lakes, AZ, and brother, Rod Ommen and his wife Janet, of Buena Vista, CO. She was also loved by many nieces and nephews and a vast extended family.

Services and a celebration of Rickie's life will be held on Saturday, February 6th at 2pm at the Lead- Deadwood Memorial Chapel at 80 Dunmire Drive, Lead, SD. A luncheon and fellowship will immediately follow at the VFW in Deadwood. Rickie was profoundly impacted by the death of her brother, Pete, in Vietnam and was passionate about veteran's issues and those who serve in the military. In lieu of flowers, the family would be grateful for memorial gifts made to the VFW Post 5969 in Deadwood, SD.

Arrangements are under the care of the Lead-Deadwood Memorial Chapel in Lead. Online condolences may be written at www.fidler-isburgfuneralchapels.com