Kenneth W. Warne, age 93, formerly of Willow Lake, passed away with Lorraine, his wife of 73 years, holding his hand and his family at his side on Sunday, November 9, 2025, at The Village Assisted Living in DeSmet.
A private visitation will be held for the family.
Funeral Services will be held at 10:30 A.M. on Thursday, November 13, 2025, at American Lutheran Church in De Smet with visitation held form 9:00 - 10:00 A.M. The service will be livestreamed via the Crawford-Osthus website.
Burial at West Bethany Cemetery in Erwin immediately following the services at the church.
On April 6, 1932, Kenneth Wayne Warne was born to Joseph and Laura (Kant) Warne in rural Willow Lake, S.D. He was one of 10 children and attended country school until eighth grade before working full time on the family farm. On July 12, 1952, he married the love of his life, Lorraine (Evenson) at West Bethany Church. Soon after, he left the farm to work construction, helping him build the East to West interstate from here to Rapid City. Over those six years, the young couple moved often to follow the road construction.
After he was done with the interstate construction, Kenneth returned to the family farm and also began a haystack moving business. Later, when Kenneth moved his family into Willow Lake from the country, he opened Warne's Water Business. He later co-owned Warne's Appliance in De Smet with his son, Rick and his son-in-law, Jim before fully retiring at the age of 65.
While Kenneth deeply loved his wife, kids and grandkids, his second great love was music. He played steel guitar in both the Dakota Ramblers and Schmidt Country bands. In his free time, he could often be found working in the yard or in his flower garden, assembling 1,000-piece Terry Redlin puzzles or woodworking anything his family requested. If you couldn't find him, he likely snuck off to the Watertown Casino for a date night with Lorraine.
He is survived by his wife, Lorraine; children: Kathy (Doug) Noem of Bryant, Rick (Penny Heig) Warne of Lake Norden, Debra (James) Pommer of De Smet, Renae (Tim) Aughenbaugh of De Smet and Rhona (Jon) Albrecht of Howard; grandchildren: Amy (Dan) Wilkinson, Troy (Jenna) Noem, Jessica (Aaron) Drenth, Heidi Williams, Brandyn (Mark) Spitzenberger, Jordan (Andrea) Warne, Mikel Warne, Kristopher (Amber) Warne, Daryn Warne, Joshua (Sarah) Pommer, Jennifer (Ryan) Deibert, Ashley (Grant) Rawlings, Andrea (Nick Krog) Pommer, Matt (Billi) Aughenbaugh, Kelli (Joe) Parsley, Adam (Sage) Aughenbaugh, Cody (Grace) Aughenbaugh, Tom Aughenbaugh, Taylin (Tyler) Anderson, Julianna (Austin) Langemeier, Martina (Dawsyn) Moroz, Hilary Albrecht and Elizabeth Albrecht; 42 great-grandchildren; two great-great-grandchildren; siblings: Lavonne "Dolly" Brodersen, Larry (Darlene) Warne, Ramona (Dick) Kirsch, Neil (Jeri) Warne, Loretta Anderson, Lowell Warne and Lonny (Brenda) Warne; and sister-in-law Barbara Evenson and Evelyn Bjordahl.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Joseph and Laura Warne; daughters Joann and Lori; grandsons Shaune Noem and Jonathan Albrecht; brothers Gale (Alice) Warne and Gordon (Alice) Warne; parents-in-law Henry and Marietta Evenson; brothers-in-law Jim Brodersen and Merle Anderson; sisters-in-law Lois Warne and Jenny Warne: siblings-in-law Harrold Evenson, Carlton Bjordahl, Truman (Dorothy) Evenson, Mary (Larry) Taschner and Ardella (Albert) Rydbom.
Funeral arrangements entrusted to Crawford-Osthus Funeral Chapel. www.crawfordosthus.com
