Dr. William Mark Armstrong

Dr. William Mark Armstrong, beloved husband, father, grandfather and physician, passed away on peacefully on March 25, 2018, after a lengthy and brave struggle with multiple myeloma. Dr. Armstrong was born October 9, 1946, in Cullman, Alabama, to Frances Oni Allgood and George Leroy Armstrong, the youngest of their three sons. He grew up surrounded by a large and loving extended family of Armstrong aunts, uncles and cousins in Scottsboro, Alabama, where he established many lifelong friendships. An accomplished high school basketball player, he won a scholarship to attend the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, graduating cum laude in 1968. He went on to study medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and relocated to Dallas in 1972 for his internship at the Veteran's Administration Hospital and his residency at Parkland Memorial Hospital, where he met his future wife, Dr. Nancy Stover Armstrong. Mark proposed within months of their first date. They were married in her hometown of Marfa, Texas, in 1973 and made their home in Dallas, where Mark entered the private practice of internal medicine. Mark and Nancy enjoyed an extremely happy and successful marriage and were devoted parents to their two daughters, Meredith and Melissa.

Apart from his family, nothing gave Mark more joy than taking care of his patients, which he did with compassion and quiet expertise. He was recognized by his peers as a leader in his field, being named a Fellow and then a Master of the American College of Physicians. He served as Governor of the North Texas Chapter of the ACP and was honored by the Texas ACP Chapter with the Chapter Laureate Award. The ACP awarded him the distinguished Ralph O. Claypoole Sr. Memorial Award for Devotion of a Career in Internal Medicine to the Care of Patients. He was a Clinical Professor of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical School, and Professor of Internal Medicine at Texas A&M College of Medicine. In addition to his private practice, he was heavily involved in the teaching program at Baylor University Medical Center, serving for many years as the Chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine and the John Binion Professor of General Internal Medicine, as well as directing the Outpatient Internal Medicine Resident Continuity Clinic for over 20 years. From 2001 onward, he served as the Associate Director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program at Baylor, helping to train a new generation of doctors and passing on his commitment to high quality patient care. His family will be forever grateful for the excellent care he received from the wonderful nurses and physicians at Baylor, many of whom were his former students and all of whom he was lucky to count among his friends.

In addition to his medical service, Mark was a dedicated member of Westminster Presbyterian Church, where he served as a deacon and an elder, where his daughters and all of his grandsons were baptized. Mark is survived by his wife Nancy; his daughter Meredith, her husband Brian Niles and their three sons William (named for his grandfather), Walter, and Alistair who live in London, England; and his daughter Melissa, her husband Steve Wilbur, and their son George, who live in Alexandria, Virginia; along with his brothers John Frank Armstrong of Albertville, Alabama, and George Leroy Armstrong, Jr. of Scottsboro, Alabama, and his many loving nieces and nephews and their families.

A visitation will be at Sparkman Hillcrest, Wednesday, March 28, from 6-8 pm. A celebration of Mark's life will be held at Westminster Presbyterian Church on Thursday, March 29, at 3:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, Mark's family asks that you consider making a donation to Westminster Presbyterian Church, 8200 Devonshire Drive, Dallas TX 75225, or the Medical Benevolence Foundation, Processing Center, PO Box 96877, Washington, D.C., 20090.