116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Obituaries
The Gazette publishes obituaries on a daily basis. Use the search field above to search for obituaries by name or keyword. Readers can submit an obituary or submit a milestone to The Gazette. The obituary must be submitted before 1 p.m. for publication on thegazette.com at 6 p.m. and in the daily edition the next day, with the exception of obituaries for Sunday publication, which must be submitted by 1 p.m. on Fridays.
Arlon Duit
ARLON DALE DUIT
Monticello
Arlon Dale Duit, 84, died Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2016, at St. Luke's Hospital, Cedar Rapids, surrounded by his loving family.
Arlon was born Aug. 7, 1931, to John G. Duit and Sarah Weber Duit on a farm near Ackley, Iowa. He graduated from Geneva High School and Otto Schnering College. On Jan. 6, 1957, he married Agnes Schnabel at Grant Center Lutheran Church LCMS near Iowa Falls. They lived in Hampton until they moved to Monticello in 1959.
Arlon worked for Curtiss Candy Company Farms, Farmers Hybrid in Hampton, Cuckler Steel Span in Monticello for 22 years and owned Lon-Du Pekingese Kennel. He loved showing dogs for 40 years. He was an AKC Register of Merit Breeder and had multiple AKC and international champions.
He loved time spent around the family table sharing his homemade food and stories, camping trips that many times included a dog show and fishing trips to Minnesota. Church and music were important to him. He sang for hundreds of weddings and funerals, was in multiple vocal groups and was a member of the Kitty Creek Quartet for 17 years. KCQ toured many states and shared their faith with countless people. He was one of three who started the Monticello community Thanksgiving dinner. He was an ordained elder and organist at Peace United Church of Christ.
He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Agnes; son, Bruce (Judy); daughters, Carol Duit and Jean (Rod) Hall; grandchildren, Amanda (Jamison) Lane, Alan (Kelli Naughton) Duit, Alyssa (Jake) Van Diest and Rachel Hall; brother, Dean (Patty); special sister, Marjorie (Roy) Ritland; and brother-in-law, Glenn Schnabel.
Preceding him in death were his parents; parents-in-law, Paul and Clara Schnabel; brother and sister-in-law, Edwin and Lillian Lubkeman; sister-in-law, Edna Schnabel; nephews, Marvin Lubkeman and Russell Ferguson; and nieces, Doris Schnabel and Donna Ritland Horner.
A celebration of Arlon's life will commence with visitation from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 17, at Goettsch Funeral Home in Monticello. Funeral services will begin at 11 a.m. Monday, Jan. 18, at Peace United Church of Christ, followed by graveside services at Oakwood Cemetery.
Memorials may be directed to Peace United Church of Christ, St. John's Lutheran Church or the North Central Illinois Pekingese Club.
Daily Newsletters