Lyle Darnell, age 80, of Carthage, passed away at his home on Saturday, August 29, 2026. Funeral Services will be 2:00 PM, Monday, September 7, 2026 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Carthage. Burial will follow at Pleasant View Cemetery. Visitation will be one hour preceding the service on Monday. After burial, everyone is invited for fellowship at the Carthage Community Center.
Lyle D. Darnell, of Carthage SD, was born on November 25, 1945 in Caroll, IA to Don and Eva (Pederson) Darnell and died August 29, 2026. An only child, he grew up on a farm outside of Meadow Grove, Nebraska. Overcoming great childhood hardships, he left school after 10th grade. He moved to Kansas City at age 16 and became an auto-body specialist and later, a certified welder.
Lyle always had an entrepreneurial spirit, and his tenacity, optimism, & intelligence served him very well. After marrying JoDene Halsey in Harlan, IA on June 4, 1965, he started his own painting business in Norfolk, NE. Lyle had no fear of heights and specialized in painting elevators and churches, as well as doing other high work. Eventually, Lyle worked his way into the V.P. of sales position at a large building contractor and was later a top salesman in the steel building industry before opening his own construction business in Goldfield, IA.
Lyle and JoDene and their two daughters moved to Carthage, SD in January of 1977, where their son was soon born. At different points, they owned and operated both the Carthage News and the grocery store. Lyle became a partner at Roth & Darnell Plumbing and Heating in Huron, SD and in 1995 he opened the doors of Energy Dynamics in the old Catholic church in Carthage, which has grown to be one of the largest geothermal distributors in the Midwest. Lyle was very proud of the work he did to promote the geothermal industry & enjoyed being asked to educate others on the topic. He considered himself fortunate to have the pleasure of building his business with Brandon for 13 years before retiring and handing the reins over to him in 2012. He was thrilled to have built something that was shared with his son & was then able to see his grandson join the company too. He loved being a salesman.
Lyle and JoDene were very devoted to the many dogs they had over the years and enjoyed countless trips in their RV. Lyle was a creative problem-solver. He could fix anything and was always coming up with a new idea or invention of some kind. He was a WWII history buff and loved early rock & roll, vintage cars, and the town of Carthage, always advocating for it anyway he could. Lyle was an incredibly devoted caretaker to his beloved wife of 58 years right up until the day she died on June 15, 2023. Among other things, he will be remembered for his generosity, honesty, work ethic, soft-heartedness, and self-deprecating sense of humor. Something very few people know about him, is that he has written a number of poems (he even has one in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame) and considered the few years (in his twenties) that he was the leader and drummer of a band named The Kimberlys, one of his most fulfilling life experiences.
Lyle is preceded in death by his parents, his wife JoDene, and grandson Evan Rieck. He is survived by his children Stephanie (Chris O’Keefe) of Seattle, Stacy Pickens (Steve) of Olathe, KS and Brandon (Jessica) of Carthage; eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
