Michael Kadrmas

Dr. Michael Wayne Kadrmas, 59, passed away peacefully on May 29, 2026, at his home in Rapid City, South Dakota, surrounded by the family he loved and devoted his life to serving.

Michael was born on May 7, 1967, to Wayne and Shirley Kadrmas in Hettinger, North Dakota, and grew up in Sheridan, Wyoming, where the Bighorn Mountains shaped his boyhood and never let him go. It was there that he earned the nickname "Maddog Kad" on the football field, and met Kari Lidahl - his high school sweetheart and the partner of everything that followed.

From an early age, Michael felt called to a life of service, shaped in part by a childhood medical emergency that revealed the difference a physician could make. Through the Air Force Health Professions Scholarship Program, he completed his medical degree at the University of Washington in 1994 then served as a General Medical Officer in the United States Air Force. His service took him to England, where he supported contingency operations, embassy evacuations, and Space Shuttle alternate landing sites, and to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where he ran toward a burning airplane after it crashed on the runway and extracted numerous crew members from the wreckage - an act of courage for which he was awarded the Airman's Medal for Heroism, and which he spoke of rarely.

After training in Orthopedic Surgery at Duke University, Michael joined Black Hills Orthopedic and Spine Center in Rapid City, where he spent nearly three decades as an orthopedic trauma surgeon. He understood that distance is its own kind of suffering, and dedicated his career to ensuring that families across western South Dakota, Wyoming, North Dakota, and Nebraska could receive high-quality trauma care close to home.

A phrase Michael returned to often - the right thing is rarely the easy thing - was less a motto than a self-portrait. He was humble, steady, and led entirely by example. Outside of medicine, he was most himself in the Bighorns, bringing his family to the same trails and campsites he had loved as a boy, and finding in them something worth passing on.

Michael is survived by his wife, Kari Kadrmas, whom he married on June 29, 1991, and cherished for nearly 35 years. He is also survived by his three children and their families: his son Caleb, daughter-in-law Megan, and grandchildren Warren and Emma Kadrmas of Alexandria, Virginia; his daughter Alyssa, son-in-law Chandler, and grandson Oliver Brooks of Rapid City; and his son Warren Kadrmas of Rapid City. He is further survived by his mother, Shirley Kadrmas of Sheridan, Wyoming, and his in-laws, Larry and Karen Lidahl of Sheridan, Wyoming. He was preceded in death by his father, Wayne Kadrmas, and his beloved brother, Warren Kadrmas.

To those who offered comfort, care, and presence over the past five years, the family is profoundly grateful.

All are welcome to attend a Celebration of Life from 5:30-8:30 p.m. on Monday, July 6, 2026 at Pine Haven Venue and Lodging, 13514 US-16, Rapid City, SD 57702.

In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes expressions of sympathy in a form that reflects how Michael lived - in service to others.

At this time, the family requests you share your condolences through the funeral home's online guestbook. Sympathy cards may be sent to the funeral home or brought to the Celebration of Life. Arrangements with Kirk Funeral Home.