William Juhl

William (Bill) Juhl passed away at age 81 on April 21, 2026, in San Rafael, CA, from complications after a fall. He was born to barber George Juhl and first grade teacher Maxine Howland, and raised in the small Michigan town of Almont. He met Terry Folkers when they both worked as camp counselors on the shores of Lake Huron, and they married in 1968. During the Vietnam War, he enlisted in the Air Force. The USAF put him through St Louis University in meteorology and he became an operational meteorologist, which took him and his family across the US including Washington state (where daughter Jenny was born), Guam (where son Christian was born), New Hampshire, Alaska (where son Erik was born), and California. His most memorable assignment was in Guam as a “typhoon chaser”, where he flew in the eyes of hurricanes to collect data to forecast typhoon behavior and guide troop movements during the Vietnam War. His final USAF assignment was as an ROTC instructor at California State University Sacramento, where he was loved as a teacher and career counselor, and his students were always welcomed by Terry and him at backyard parties in Sacramento.

After his Air Force career, he became an entrepreneur and businessman. In the mid-80s, he started a PC company, building out computers for small businesses and creating a community of PC users in the Sacramento area through a dedicated club called “Sacra Blue.” He later worked in remote sensing, doing contract work for Boeing. During the 90s, he fell in love with BMW motorcycles and toured the West and Mexico with the motorcycle club, whose members became lifelong friends, and fulfilled a dream of learning to sail, eventually sharing ownership of a sailboat and sailing in the Bay Area. His final business was distributing insulated concrete forms for home construction in northern California, where he again built a community, this time teaching local contractors how to build with this environmentally friendly material. He worked with his son Erik at the business until he fully retired.

Bill was known for his wit (with a devilish grin when he was delivering a line), his passion for craftsmanship, and his love of learning. He would go all the way into a subject, whether reading multiple books to know the history of a place, perfecting his pizza and smash burger making, or creating elaborate scavenger hunts for his 3 grandsons at Christmas. He always had a pocket knife on him, and taught his children to do the same. He thought he could fix anything, and often could. He loved to travel: he and Terry saw much of the world during their USAF days and later in retirement – both through overseas travel and camping on the California coast in their Arctic Fox trailer. Bill always said his biggest adventure was marrying Terry, as his willing partner in anything and everything. He was absolutely dedicated to her, always doing big and small acts of kindness for her.

Throughout his life, he was a wood worker, including home furniture making and rifle gunstock carving, and making a table with each of his three children. After his retirement in Nevada City, CA, he became a wood turner, making bowls, vases and other artistic pieces. He learned from masters around the world, and became an expert himself. He sold his work at art fairs and in galleries, and his children gave his beautiful pieces as gifts to friends and colleagues around the world. He was a leader in the Gold Country Woodturners club, and always generous with his time in teaching others: over the years, he taught several hundred adult learners from his workshop, including his daughter Jenny.

Bill is survived by his wife of 57 years Terry Juhl; his 3 children Jenny (Loren) Majersik, Christian Juhl, and Erik Juhl; his 3 grandsons Maxwell and Emmett Majersik and Lucas Juhl; and his brother Tim (Joan) Juhl.

Service details: Please join us for a memorial service to honor and celebrate Bill's life. Date: Wednesday June 3

Time: 1:00 – 3:00 PM, with internment shortly after.

There will be a reception after (TBD).

Location: Fernwood – Remembrance Room 301 Tennessee Valley Rd, Mill Valley, CA 94941

As a way of honoring his woodturning and teaching legacy, in lieu of flowers, the family requests consideration of a donation to the Gold Country Woodturners Club, who have established the Bill Juhl Legacy Fund. This fund will provide club members with opportunities to receive training in the art of turning. https://www.goldturners.org/page-18204 or Gold Country Woodturners PO Box 262 Grass Valley, CA 95945.