Carmen Holmes

On the morning of Sunday, March 15, 2026, Carmen Della Marie Holmes passed away at Villa St. Francis in Olathe, Kansas, after a courageous battle of 16 months with colon cancer. Carmen was 81 years old.

Carmen Della Marie Lickteig was born on July 13, 1944, in Garnett, Kansas, the daughter of Mary Catherine Jockman and August Herman Lickteig.

Her early childhood was spent on the family farm, collecting eggs, tending the garden and getting into mischief with her younger brother Gene. She was a spirited, independent young lady, running barefoot on the gravel roads and learning how to drive without her parents' knowing. Carmen graduated from Garnett High School in 1962.

Carmen fulfilled her educational dreams by attending nursing school and graduating as an RN from the Mercy School of Nursing, Fort Scott, in 1965. It was during this time that she had a blind date with a man that when she first saw him she "heard bells." That dear man was Dale Albert Holmes, and the two were wed on January 27, 1968, in Garnett, Kansas. They were married for 31 years until Dale passed away in April of 1999.

Her married life saw her living and working in many different towns and states. She worked as a nurse wherever the family landed, in hospitals and private offices. She retired from nursing after 42 years.

Carmen was a strong Catholic who loved sharing her faith with everyone around her. She loved Jesus, and took His mandate seriously to spread the Good News. She was active in her parish of Scipio, Kansas.

She spent her later years in Garnett, where she could be near her family. She enjoyed music and dancing, and growing her delicious vegetables in her container gardens outside of her home. She especially loved traveling to family gatherings to be surrounded by the lovely chaos that having 9 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren does bring.

Carmen was preceded in death by her husband, Dale Albert Holmes; her parents, Gus and Mary Lickteig; her brothers, Glen Lickteig, Marvin Lickteig, and Harley Lickteig; her brothers-in-law, Joe Mader and Ron Cunningham, and sister-in-law, Doris Lickteig.

She is survived by her children, Kristie (Holmes) and John Ossello, Sean and Sarah Holmes, Kelley (Holmes) and Paul Staso, and Erika (Holmes) and Shane Emery; grandchildren, Bailey (Ossello) and JC Edgar, Kiley (Ossello) and Luke Johnson, Jack Ossello, Sage Holmes, Solomon Holmes, Rachel (Douglass) and Bailey Correll, Nathan Douglass, Hannah Douglass and Kyndal Douglass; great-grandchildren Jack Clyde, Kathleen and Bennett Edgar, Jett and Ace Johnson, and Cecilia and Coleson Correll; brothers and sisters-in-law, Cecil and Dorothy Lickteig, Eugene and Stacey Lickteig, and Roy and Joyce Lickteig, and sisters, Julie (Lickteig) Mader, Oralee (Lickteig) O'Brien, and Margaret (Lickteig) Cunningham, sisters-in-law, JoAnn Lickteig and Beryl Lickteig.

The Holmes family gratefully appreciates and recognizes the nurses, sisters, aides, staff volunteers, Nurse Leslie and Fr. Karl Good of Villa St. Francis and Catholic Community Hospice, Olathe, Kansas, for the loving care they gave our mother during her stay there - most especially the last two weeks of our mother's long good-bye. May God bless you all abundantly!

Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:00 AM on Friday, March 20, 2026, at St. Boniface Catholic Church, Scipio, Kansas. Burial will follow in the St. Boniface Catholic Cemetery. A Rosary will be held at 6:00 PM on Thursday evening at St. Boniface Catholic Church, followed by visitation from 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM. Memorial contributions may be made to St. Boniface Catholic Church or Carmel Hall and left in care of Feuerborn Family Funeral Service. Condolences may be sent to Carmen's family at www.feuerbornfuneral.com