Anthony “Tony” John Arkema, 34, of North Liberty and formerly of Killduff, died Aug. 26, 2022. The family will greet friends from 5-7 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022, at Wallace Family Funeral Home and Crematory in Newton. In lieu of flowers, memorials in Tony’s name (checks made payable to Wes Arkema or Cindy Arkema) to be used to support Tony’s passion for animals and nature may be left at the funeral home.
Tony, the son of Wesley Arkema and Cynthia (Ratcliff) Arkema, was born May 18, 1988, in Grinnell. He grew up in Killduff and graduated from Lynnville-Sully High School in 2006. After high school, he worked at Maytag Dairy Farm. In 2010, Tony received his AAA in Professional Photography from Hawkeye Community College. He then made his home in Cedar Rapids and worked as a crew leader for A.B. Mauri Foods for many years.
Tony had two main passions in life - photography and animals. His photography skills many times were used to photograph animals in nature or on his many trips to area zoos. Tony also loved animals and had rescued many throughout the years. His dog Zina was his sidekick, and they loved going on nature walks together. Tony also enjoyed going to concerts, had played the guitar, and was a member of several sand volleyball teams.
Tony is survived by his parents, Cindy Arkema (Ron Reynolds) of Killduff and Wes (Paula) Arkema of Kellogg; stepgrandmother Nancy Gerber; his sister Christa (Shaun) Vander Weerdt; stepsiblings Ashley (Matt) Taylor, Zach (Sveta) Miller, and Wesley Miller (Schyular Hetrick); his two nieces Chloe and Reagan Vander Weerdt; his nephew Rhett Taylor; and his many aunts, uncles, and cousins.
He was preceded in death by his paternal grandparents John Arkema and Iva (Joe) Harthoorn, maternal grandparents Melvin and Marcile Ratcliff, and stepgrandpa Richard Gerber.
