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Mr. Lewis Avery Armstrong, age 80, of Fayetteville, passed away January 8, 2022.
Mr. Armstrong was born on August 18, 1941, in Seiling, Oklahoma to the late Charley and Ethel Armstrong. He grew up on a farm. He started plowing fields with a tractor at the age of five. He used his imagination and played with home made “toys” – sticks and rocks. He had a few “pets” – a dog, several cows and chickens. In 1959, Lewis graduated from Seiling High School where he lettered in baseball, football and basketball. He went on to Oklahoma Christian College for a short time before pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Geography from Oklahoma State University where he was a member of the ROTC program. In 1963, Lewis married Linda Todd. He was sent to officer’s school and assigned to the 4th Division of the U.S. Army at Fort Lewis Washington. Here he helped prepare the division deploy to Vietnam. He served overseas in Vietnam for 13 months. Upon his return to the United States, Mr. Armstrong continued his pursuit of higher education by gaining three master’s degrees from Kansas University (Geography), Emporia State University (Library Sciences) and the Naval War College (National Security and Strategic Studies). As an Army Colonel, Mr. Armstrong worked at the Pentagon for 5 years – on the Army Staff and then later the Joint Chief of Staff. During this time, he was instrumental in developing regional training sites for Reservists and National Guard soldiers. Over the course of his military service, Mr. Armstrong and his family lived in Oklahoma, Washington, Kansas, Indiana, Virginia, Rhode Island, California and Texas. After serving his nation for 28 years, Mr. Armstrong retired in 1993 and began a new career as a librarian and geography teacher at Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas. Then he worked as a librarian at Emporia State University, Emporia, Kansas until he retired in 2003. Two years later he and his wife relocated to Fayetteville, Georgia where he spent the remainder of his life.
Mr. Armstrong was a faithful Christian and longtime member of local Church of Christ in whichever community they lived in (Fayetteville Church of Christ since 2005). Throughout his life he was active in church work. For a time planned and led men’s class. He co-taught and planned for devotions on Wednesday night. He was an encourager and invited new members out to dinner. Lewis and Linda planned and presented patriotic programs to senior centers and assisted living facilities in the area. They volunteered their time with Story Corp making recordings of the life stories of local Veterans. The Veterans were given a personal copy and a copy was sent to the Library of Congress to be stored in the National Archives. Mr. Armstrong was deeply patriotic and was often seen wearing his Vietnam Veteran cap. He was a member of the Veterans of Foreign War, American Legion, Military Officers Association of America and on the board of Home Front Families of Military Heroes. He was a proud Fayette County Master Gardener and Southern Crescent Story Tellers. He enjoyed playing basketball well into his 50s. He was tech savvy and had a knack for working with computers. He wrote and self-published (thru Amazon) several books, including his autobiography, a family cookbook and other stories. He was funny and a bit quirky too. Memories of Mr. Armstrong’s good Christian character, love of country, kind soul, and good sense of humor will be fondly remembered by his family and friends.
Along with his parents, Mr. Armstrong was preceded in death by his brothers and sister: Leonard Armstrong, Lawrence Armstrong and Imodean Dodson. He is survived by his wife of 58 years: Linda Todd Armstrong of Fayetteville, GA; children: Michael Armstrong of San Antonio, TX, Melinda Armstrong of Fayetteville, GA and Aukse Harris (and her husband David Harris) of Mineola, TX; grandchildren: Odeyah Cagan (and her husband Aaron Cagan), Emma Harris and Zacchaeus Harris; great-granddaughter: Maya Cagan. He is also survived by several nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be held in Mr. Armstrong’s honor at 2 pm on January 30th at Fayetteville Church of Christ, 870 Redwine Road, Fayetteville, GA. The family will be receiving friends from 1:00-2:00 pm in the church lobby. The Armstrong family is being assisted by Georgia Cremation, 1086 Hwy 54 W, Fayetteville. Messages of condolence may be left at www.GeorgiaCremation.com.
In Lieu of flowers please consider donations to
In Search of the Lord’s Way www.searchtv.org
Homefront Families of Military Heroes www.homefrontfamilies.org
Raintree Village Children and Family Services https://raintreevillage.org
Disabled American Veterans www.dav.org
Denise Greene says
Lewis is my precious brother in Christ and my friend! The first day I met them at church and discovered they had just moved here, I was so happy! I was happy because I knew I had friends for life… Talking to Linda and Lewis was always interesting, informative and fun! I also enjoy spending time with and talking to Melinda.. I love you all! The only comfort in knowing Lewis is gone from this Earth, is knowing he is young again, no longer in pain and with our Lord. I love you all very, very much… I look forward to seeing him again in heaven… Melinda, I know Lewis was your hero and rightfully so because you were his pride and joy. He loved bragging on you and your sister by choice… Hang in there sister. If ever you need to talk we are just around the corner…
Love you!
Bob Babcock says
Lewis and I are both 4ID Vietnam vets, serving at the same time but did not know each other in Vietnam. Later, in the late 1960s through early 1970s, we served together in the 89th Training Division in the US Army Reserves in Kansas City. We have stayed in touch as friends since then. I was unaware of his illness and will miss him very much. Even though it has been a long time since we met in person, we did stay in touch via email. Steadfast and Loyal (the motto of the 4th Infantry Division).
Rachel Prewitt says
Mr. Armstrong was one of my teachers at ACU. I remember him for his kindness and his smile. My thoughts and prayers are with his wife and family.
Elizabeth Valls says
Uncle Lewis was a genuinely kind and encouraging man. He loved his country and he loved to learn and teach. I was thankful to attend his service virtually from Texas today with my family. I am forever grateful for the work he put into the family cookbook. Sending my love to Aunt Linda, Michael and Melinda.
John Hayes says
I’m sorry for your loss. Lewis was very kind to me when I lost my grandfather and sent me a thoughtful message. I always have appreciated his thoughts and taking the time to share with me. God bless to y’all.
Bob and Nikki Honkisz says
To the Armstrong Family:
We are sorry to hear about the passing of Lewis a husband, father, grandfather, and friend to many. We pray that God will give you strength, and comfort during this difficult time. We know he was special, and he will be missed dearly by those who loved him and cared about him. Thank you, Lewis, for being a good friend to Bob and me, and for always being so kind and helpful. We are going to miss your kind words, and nice smile. We are also going to miss you, and we will miss talking to you online.
George Holland says
I met Lewis in 1st grade and we both graduated from Seiling High School in 1959. We both started on the basketball team for 3 years and I blocked for him on the football team. With his size he made a great fullback. I remember hanging out with him when his older brother loaned him his new car. He was a great friend and I will miss seeing him at class reunions.