Case Arkell

Age 48 of Stillwater, died unexpectedly on October 27, 2025 from a heart attack.

He is survived by his parents, John and Jan; wife, Jamie; children, Tyler Forster, Riley (Sydney), Grace (Max) Groves, Lily (Mason) Oberembt, Evan, Case Jr.; siblings, Cory (Shannon), Kellei (Eric) St. Martin and Kerry (Greg) Johnson; many nieces and nephews and his grandchildren, Russ, Raleigh, Easton, Lennon and Eve.

Case hated formalities and he lived life on his terms. He preferred spontaneous gatherings at his home where he would be on the grill with a beer watching and yelling at whoever crossed his path. Yelling was a form of affection for Case. If he yelled at you, you knew he loved you. And if there was a timeline, he ignored it. He didn’t even show up for his brother’s wedding on time. But he was always ready for a party. Fridge and freezer always stocked. But please show up in casual, even dirty clothes, with a foul mouth greeting for him. Anything more formal would find you back in your car quickly:)

He was a master at making people smile and laugh. He was the king of one liners, movie quotes and funny, inappropriate greetings: “Coming in hot” “F…mint” “What’s up Bish”, “Fire in the hole!” ”Hey Buddy!” “There’s my guy!” “Call you in 5” “This roof is hammered!” “ It’s going to be mintski!” We could make a book of Case’s quotes. His heart was enormous, filled with compassion and empathy. Sometimes his help would borderline on enabling. He couldn’t withstand suffering so he would justify the help. No matter your status in life, he made people feel important, safe and valued.

Besides being a Dad and Papa, his favorite things included giving fake scratch off tickets to people as a joke and then giving them his money because he felt bad that they actually didn’t win. He was also a grand master of fireworks. He would spend thousands of dollars on fireworks so his kids would have their own private firework show and that show would rival most small cities. He was an amazing cook too. If you haven’t tasted his au jus, you haven’t lived.

Case loved to spoil his family. Anything his kids or Jamie asked for was given. The word “no” didn’t exist where his family was concerned. He was also the best gift giver in town. We all hoped during the Christmas drawing that our kid would get one of his! The excitement of a Case gift! It was going to be epic!

Since he was young it has been said that everything Case touched turned to gold. And it did. But actually, he was just smart, really smart and driven to succeed. Being an owner of several small businesses came as no surprise. His entrepreneurial mind started at a young age which grew into several successful businesses in; real estate, exterior building and renovation and a car dealership. His current main focus was Legacy Exteriors, which he started 20+ years ago with Dan Sedlacek, aka “Slaw”. Dan is not only his business partner, but also his life long friend. His brother Cory is also an integral part of the company. He was Case’s right hand man and he will miss those weekly 20 minute meetings at Case’s house that lasted hours. The 3 of them grew Legacy Exteriors together and it remains a thriving business today.

It is our hope that we will forever see his smile, hear his laugh and booming voice. We know he is at peace, sitting in his ripped blue jeans, a white Hanes t-shirt with a big gold chain eating his coffee ice cream…. watching us survive and yelling out to incoming souls :”Hey Buddy!”

Case's Celebration of Life will be from 1-5pm with a time of sharing at 3pm on Sunday, November 9th at Bradshaw Celebration of Life Center, 2800 Curve Crest Blvd, Stillwater MN 55082.