Obituary of Ralph L. Neuzil

Ralph L. Neuzil 80, of Iowa City died Sunday, May 22, 2011 at Mercy Hospital due to complications of pneumonia. Funeral services will be held at 1:00 p.m., Friday, May 27, 2011, at St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church in Iowa City with the Reverend Michael Phillips officiating. Burial with military honors will be held at St. Joseph Cemetery. Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday at Gay & Ciha Funeral and Cremation Service, and after 12 noon until services on Friday at the church. In lieu of flowers a memorial fund has been established in Ralph’s memory. Online condolences may be sent for his family through the web @ www.gayandciha.com Ralph was born November 8, 1930 on a farm in rural western Johnson County; he was a life-long fourth generation resident of Johnson County and the son of Fred and Agnes (Stebral) Neuzil. Ralph married Arlene Marie Stika, August 4, 1954 at St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church in Iowa City. They have six children, Wayne Neuzil of Iowa City, Nancy (and Randy Oatney) of Woodburn, Oregon, Susan Harman Neuzil of Iowa City, Gary (and Terri) Neuzil of Iowa City, John Neuzil of Iowa City and Terrence Neuzil of Iowa City. They also have five grand-children; Danielle, Matt, Nicole, Mike, and John, and one great grandchild, Autumn. He is also survived by his sister Darlene (and Bill) VanKirk of Marshalltown. Ralph was a graduate of University High School and the University of Iowa earning his Law Certificate in 1957. He practiced law for 53 years until his retirement in December, 2010. Ralph joined the United States Army ROTC at the University of Iowa in 1948, and served in the Korean War as a teacher, instructor and investigator. He retired as a U.S. Army Captain of the 410th Infantry Regiment of the Army Reserve with honorable discharge in 1965. Ralph was elected as Johnson County Attorney from 1958-66 and was the youngest elected County Attorney in the State of Iowa. Ralph was past president of the Johnson County Bar Association, past chairman of the Johnson County Conservation Board, and was a member of numerous community clubs and organizations including the Izaak Walton League, Knights of Columbus (50+ years), Eagles Club, Moose Lodge, Optimist Club, Oddfellows and Jaycees (Distinguished Service Award winner). Ralph also served as Master of Ceremonies for the Johnson County Military Affairs Association’s activities for the annual Iowa City Area Memorial Day Services for over 30 years. In 2007 Ralph was the recipient of the Will J. Hayek Lifetime Achievement Award by the Johnson County Military Affairs Association and he was featured in the recently published book, The Oxford Project, by Peter Feldstein and Stephen Bloom. On May 7, 2011 Ralph and Arlene were inducted into the Johnson County Democratic Party Hall of Fame. Ralph was well known in the community for his honesty, integrity, fairness and faith, a good story or a joke and he was an expert in barbecue pork, sauerkraut, coon hunting, and fishing. He will best be known for being a wonderful husband and an amazing Dad and Grandpa!