Harold E. Armstrong, longtime co-owner of the historic Wagon Wheel Motel on old Route 66 in Cuba, Mo., died Saturday at age 81, according to Britton Funeral Home in Cuba.
Armstrong and his wife of 20 years, Pauline, owned the motel that’s best-known for its distinctive stone cabins, neon sign and its $17-a-night rooms. Pauline died a few years ago.
The Wagon Wheel was a complex that included a cafe and filling station when built in 1936. Pauline Armstrong owned the motel since the early 1960s. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Harold Armstrong’s funeral will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday. He will be buried at Anaconda Cemetery in Anaconda, Mo., under full military honors. Memorials can be made to St. Clair VFW Post #2482 in St. Clair, Mo.