The Rev. Carl R. Lilienkamp, 72, died suddenly on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024 at Providence Medical Center in Wayne.
Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 20 at Grace Lutheran Church in Wayne. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 19 at Grace Lutheran Church in Wayne. Burial will be in Christ Lutheran Cemetery at Columbus.
For the Live Streaming Services link, go to gracewayne.com.
Memorials may be directed to Anchor Lutheran School/Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Anchorage, Alaska or Grace Lutheran Church in Wayne.
Arrangements are with Hasemann Funeral Home of Wayne.
Carl Rickey (Rick) Lilienkamp was born March 10, 1951 in Lockwood, Dade County, Missouri to Gilbert Lilienkamp and Elnora (Brinkhoff) Lilienkamp. He was baptized as a baby at Immanuel Lutheran Church, Lockwood, Missouri, and confirmed on April 11, 1965 at Immanuel. He grew up a Missouri farm boy on his parents’ farm, but God put it into his heart at a young age to be a pastor. He used to preach to his mother’s hundreds of chickens and gather the eggs as the offering. He attended Immanuel Lutheran School, Lockwood High School, St. Paul’s College in Concordia, Missouri, Concordia Senior College in Fort Wayne, Indiana, attended two years at Concordia Theological Seminary in Springfield, Illinois, and graduated from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri in 1977. He earned a Doctor in Ministry from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, in 1994.
On June 9, 1973 he married his college sweetheart, Darlene Lois Oehlert at St. Matthew Lutheran Church in St. Louis, Missouri.
Upon graduation from Seminary, Carl received his first call to be a pastor at St. John Lutheran Church Green Garden, Madison, Nebraska, and served congregations in Nebraska his entire ministry of nearly 47 years including Our Redeemer, Staplehurst; Christ Lutheran, rural Columbus; Trinity Lutheran, Arapahoe, and retired at Grace Lutheran Church in Wayne.
As a retiree, he joyfully served Grace in Wayne, for several years, St. Timothy, Tanacross, Alaska; Immanuel, Osmond, and Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Anchorage, Alaska.
Carl was an avid outdoorsman, loved spending time with his family, traveling, bicycling, hiking, camping, scootering, gardening, smoking meat, studying the Bible and teaching about the love of Jesus. He lived a life of joy, had a dry sense of humor, enjoyed playful teasing and had a gift for remembering people’s names.
Although he retired in 2016, he was happiest when he was serving a congregation. He and Darlene spent several summers as Alaska Mission for Christ volunteers, serving in Anchorage. They were also the LCMS Nebraska District Uplifting Pastors’ Families marriage retreat leaders for three years. Carl was a Post Seminary Applied Learning and Support (PALS) leader, mentoring new Seminary graduates.
Realizing the uncertainty of this life, he placed full confidence and trust in his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who promised: “I am the Resurrection and the Life; he that believeth in Me, though he were dead yet shall he live; and whosoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.” John 11:25-26.
Survivors include his wife, Darlene; son, Dan (Christi) and their children Connor (fiance Sydney Piccolo), Alyssa (fiance AJ Forbes), and Christian; daughter, Krista (Chad) Young and their children Freya, Patrick, and Cloey; son, Adam and his children Andrew and Matthew; son, Ben and his children Jade, Evelyn and Braelyn; his sister Lois Kretschmar; brothers-in-law Orrin Shaw, Ted Oehlert; Dan (Diana) Oehlert, many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, sisters, Mary Rusch, and her husband, Herbert Rusch, Jr., Agnes Shaw, Betty Steadman and her husband, Charles, and brother-in-law, Ray Kretschmar.
