Arnold "Arnie" Clark Juhl

Arnold “Arnie” Clark Juhl, 94, of Cedar Rapids, passed away on April 7, 2026, surrounded by loving family. Arnie was born on July 11, 1931, in Waverly, Iowa, the youngest son of five siblings to Anker Petersen Juhl and Olive Mae Wilson. In his youth, Arnie belonged to 4-H club in Waverly and showed a cow named “Whitey.” Together they won many blue ribbons at the All-Iowa Fair in Cedar Rapids and Dairy Cattle Congress in Waterloo due to high levels of butterfat. Arnie graduated from Waverly High School in 1949. Arnie met Ruth Ellen Hale in 1962 at the Butterfly Café in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and they were married on October 26, 1963, in Solon, Iowa, blending their families – his: Connie and Mike; hers: Cathy, William, and Kimberly; and together, their son Jeffrey, completing their family. Together they enjoyed almost 63 years of marriage.

Arnie came to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 1958 and started his first job at Barron Motor Supply as a machinist. Then he worked at F&W Mack Truck as a truck mechanic before starting at Rapids Chevrolet where he set up new cars. This was followed by a short stint at Life Investor selling insurance policies, but he much preferred to be using his hands and returned to work at Rapids Chevrolet where he drove the pace car for races at Hawkeye Downs and was a track photographer when the bleachers went down at Hawkeye Downs; he worked with Claire Schreiver. He then worked for Holman Erection during which he helped build the first parking ramp at St Luke’s Hospital. While working for Marty Sixt with ADS in Iowa City, Arnie was a mechanic on Erv Janey’s racing car; during this time Erv won the IMCA championship. He spent some time at Star Engineering as a mechanic and from there worked at Snyder Manufacturing by day, while working on Verlin Eaker’s racing car (#21) at night. Arnie most enjoyed when Verlin won the feature race in Rossburg, Ohio where he was paid $5,000 in twenty-dollar bills. Arnie also enjoyed going to Darlington, South Carolina, with Ed Machacek for drag racing. Arnie started with Conveyer Engineering in 1981 as the head of maintenance for Joe Cone; Arnie retired from here at the age of 65. After retirement, Arnie repaired old tractors all over the area and enjoyed driving the Freedom Festival train for seven years. He also went to Las Vegas with his son Dr. Jeffery Juhl to enjoy NASCAR Races. In retirement, Arnie also enjoyed working with his friends. For example, he worked maintenance for Bob Vanous at Morgan Creek, mowed lots for Dave Vanous until they were sold, and repaired tractors at Bloomsbury Farm for Dave Peterson. Arnie was elected to the Wall of Fame at Hawkeye Downs in 2016, an honor recognizing Arnie’s significant contributions to the history and success of the speedway.

Remaining to cherish Arnie’s memory are his wife, Ruth Juhl; children, Connie (Ken) Hron, Mike Juhl, William Kubite, and Kimberly Suber; seven grandchildren; thirteen great-grandchildren; multiple nieces and nephews; cousins; and many friends. Preceding Arnie in death are his children, Dr. Jeffrey Juhl and Cathy Harper; his parents, Anker & Olive Juhl; and siblings, Ralph (Lavon) Juhl, Dorothy (Merwyn) Whitney, Lester (Norma) Juhl, and Marj (Bob) Reinhardt.

A visitation will be held at Murdoch-Linwood Funeral Home on Thursday, April 16, 2026, from 4 to 7 p.m. The funeral service will be held at the funeral home on Friday, April 17, 2026, at 10:30 a.m., with cremation to follow. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the family.