Gail Armstrong

Gail Greenmeyer Armstrong breathed her last breath in her home on April 23, 2024, surrounded by family and friends in the days and hours before her death. Gail was born on May 1, 1942 in Philadelphia, PA, but called Columbia, SC, home for the last 46 years. Her family and friends knew Gail as an incredibly generous, loving and kind-hearted woman. She was always warm and accepting of anyone, regardless of their background or situation. She had a curiosity about others, asking many probing questions to try to know and understand them better. She willingly put others needs before her own, seeking nothing in return, especially for family and friends. Her children remember her nurturing them by driving to care for them when they were sick adults living many miles away, providing support and relief to the new mothers of her grandchildren, and giving up her nursing career to care for her daughter following a critical accident. She was a model of humility.

Gail received her training for certification as a Registered Nurse at Philadelphia General Hospital. She then worked at the hospital while also attending evening classes at the University of Pennsylvania to obtain her Bachelor of Science in Nursing. It was at PGH where she met Will Armstrong in the cafeteria during a night shift. In Gail’s typical outgoing style, she asked Will, then an intern at the hospital, if she could join him and a colleague for a meal. In no time, Will swept Gail off her feet, driving her around town in his convertible Mercedes. The two attended Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia where they were married in 1970 by James Montgomery Boice. Shortly after their marriage, Gail and Will moved to Ann Arbor while Will completed his residency in pathology.

In 1978 Gail and Will moved to Columbia, South Carolina, where she immersed herself in her children’s lives and in her church. She volunteered and participated in many capacities with First Presbyterian Church, including taking multiple medical mission trips to Mexico and Haiti, where she used her nursing skills to help those in need. These trips were a way for her to travel, which she loved. In her later days, her youngest son Ben cared for her and they developed a special bond, leaning on each other for love and support, in addition to that of her husband.

Gail is survived by her husband, Will; sister, Deborah Shea (Paul); children, Amy, Will (Melanie), Alicia and Ben; and grandchildren, Gray, Dax, Collette and Jack, as well as her beloved dogs, Spike and Smokey.

The family will hold a memorial service at First Presbyterian Church on Saturday, May 4th at 2pm, with a reception to follow at Jackson Hall. Memorials in Gail’s honor can be made to First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, SC or the South Carolina Environmental Law Project.