Survived by his wife of 40 years, Peggy Starnes Armstrong, sons Steven E. Armstrong, Boonsboro, MD; Douglas S. Armstrong, Ormond Beach, FL Michael P Armstrong, Horse Shoe, NC, Steven S. Blair, Ormond Beach, FL and Michael E. Blair, Orange City, FL, daughters, Susan R. Campbell, Ruston, LA and Holly A. West of Ormond Beach, FL. He is also survived by fourteen grandchildren: Sara Armstrong-Brown, Boonsboro, MD, Matthew Armstrong, St. Augustine, FL, Megan Young, Charlotte NC, Andrew, Barrett and Collin Armstrong, Horse Shoe, NC, Kevin and Mark Campbell, Ruston, LA, Tyler and Troy West, Ormond Beach, FL, Kalyn and Connor Blair, Ormond Beach, FL, Sarah and David Blair, Orange City, FL, 4 great grandchildren, sisters Nancy Ann Elliott, Canton NY, and Karen Sue Davis, Watertown, NY; as well as seven nieces and nephews.
Armstrong was a native of Canton, NY, and attended local schools there. He enlisted in the United States Navy Reserve in 1946 and was discharged in 1954. Armstrong graduated from St. Lawrence University in Canton in 1951 with a Bachelor of Science degree. He served on the adjunct faculty at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University for several years, teaching in their MBA program.
During his university years, Armstrong worked at WMSA and WMSA/FM in Massena, NY, as a license radio engineer. Upon graduation, he joined the Guided Missile Branch of the Radar Laboratory at Watson Research Laboratories during their transition to Rome Air Development Center in Rome, NY, where he was project engineer on several guided missile radar systems during their development phase. He accompanied the first USAF Matador missile squadron during deployment to Europe during the height of the Cold War on 1954 and participated in several related weapon test projects.
Armstrong joined the General Electric Company in 1957 and spent the next decade working on USAF Atlas and Titan ballistic missile programs and spin-off research including the Ranger lunar probes, the Mariner/Voyager programs, and the Mercury/Gemini manned space flight programs.
After a three year sabbatical managing a small shipyard and marina on the Canadian border in Clayton, NY, Armstrong, a licensed USCG captain and member of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, rejoined General Electric in 1969 at the Apollo Support Department in Daytona Beach, FL, where he initiated worldwide marketing activities to acquire naval digital control systems programs to replace the completed Apollo program. He retired as a Manager, International Market Development in 1984 after suffering a heart attack while in Southeast Asia. He was a member of the General Electric ELFUN Society.
Armstrong was active in family history research and belonged to several area genealogical societies. He published a widely distributed email genealogy newsletter for a number of years, receiving the Florida Genealogy Outstanding Achievement Award. He held a current amateur radio license KJ4CIA, and was also active in scale model shipbuilding and was an officer of the Port Orange Ship Model Club.
The family will receive friends 2:00- 4:00 pm, Saturday December 15, 2018 at Volusia Memorial Funeral Home 4815 S Clyde Morris Blvd Port Orange. Family flowers only. Condolences may be shared with the family at www.volusiamemorialfuneral.com
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