Stanley Donald Armstrong

Stanley Donald Armstrong, 69 of Las Vegas, Nevada went on to his next journey onOctober 23, 2022 while at Desert Springs Hospital. The hospital was very caring and professional in the process of preparing him for heart transplant surgery; however, within a 48 hour period, he suffered a series of heart attacks that he did not survive. He was born on September 26, 1953 in San Francisco, California to Johnnie Mae Durden, a dedicated poll worker from Rodessa, Louisiana and Lloyd Don Armstrong, a business man and U.S. Marshall from Shreveport, Louisiana. He is survived by his sister, Pamela and his brother, Saul, and an extended family of friends and life-long supporters who remained loyal to Stanley throughout his life.He lived in Las Vegas for 67 years and called it a home that he would never leave. His parents relocated to Las Vegas in 1955 moving into Cadillac Arms, a duplex development built exclusively to rent only to the people of African descent during the time of legalized segregation in the United States of America. The so-called “colored part of town” was entitled the Westside, and it was an area that housed many of the African-American celebrities who were not allowed to sleep nor eat where they entertained on the Strip nor Downtown. The Las Vegas power structure followed the strict rules of segregation, and as a result, the entertaining African-American celebrities had to commute nightly to the Westside to reside in the Cadillac Arms duplexes after their shows. Stanley grew up listening to his mother and father telling stories of seeing Lena Horne, Harry Belafonte, Sammy Davis, Jr. and others who resided next to them. Stanley’s upbringing was greatly influenced by these stories as he witnessed the consequences that segregation had on his family and community. Some of the results were positive and negative, and this is what intrigued him. As a result, Stanley dedicated his production company, Desert Rose Productions, to producing documentaries that brought to life the realities of African Americans living on the Westside from the 1950’s to 1980’s. Stanley attended Kit Carson elementary school (currently known as the Helen Anderson Toland International Academy), J.D. Smith junior high school and Rancho High school. He received his B.A. in communications and a minor in film studies and also history. He became a UNLV professor who taught in the Film Studies department until he retired. During his retirement, he continued to produce documentaries and was working on a

picture book of the Westside. He believed that by documenting the positive blueprint of a once thriving Westside, that this could serve as a future blueprint for redesigning a Westside community that would serve marginalized people and allow them to live in dignity. Tuscarora “They are not dead who live in the hearts they leave behind.”

In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations be made to his GoFundMe page: https://www.gofundme.com/f/supporters-of-stan-armstrong? tm_campaign=p_cp%20sharesheet&utm_medium=sms&utm_source=customerandr&fbclid=IwAR1aojJePaKblEdYS6CHqN7KvkN42 PyRS6V_Dg-QQ3eH5TwNJyfsaKA

A special memorial celebration of life will be held on Monday, November 7, 2022 at

the Tap House Italian American Bar and Sports Bar in Las Vegas, 5589 West Charleston Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89146 from 6:00pm to 8:00pm.Because Stanley touched the hearts of many, a Zoom memorial and other celebrations of life will be announced on his Facebook page.