Robert Lawrence Armstrong passed away peacefully at home at the age of 80 surrounded by his loving family on July 22, 2026, after a long illness.

Bob was born June 2, 1946, in Kenton, Ohio to the late Bernard and Lamont (Lingrel) Armstong. He was the baby of his family with two older sisters, the late Martha Ann (Dick Bright), late Janet Sue (Jim Hinkle) and one brother who passed as an infant. He grew up on a small dairy farm in the quaint country community of Byhalia, Ohio where he learned how to work hard and play his favorite sports, baseball and basketball. He often spoke to his children of his fond memories on the farm and of the activities at school where he was larger than life. He might have had a few of his children believe for a while that there actually was a statue of him in front of the Byhalia school. His school classmates were lifelong friends which allowed him to reminisce those beloved days.

Bob met Lee during his sophomore year of high school at a high school dance. They married February 26, 1965, and had sixty-one years together. Bob decided to go to college with dreams of accounting instead of a being a farmer. Although he never graduated from college, they eventually moved to Columbus for a time where he gained some experience in banking, and they met with missionaries sent by Lee’s brother Fred, from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They joined the church when they had two little girls. About a year and a half later they were sealed for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake City temple in 1971 and welcomed another little girl to the family.

They then moved to Paulding, a little town in northwest Ohio where they lived for 16 years. Bob was initially a bank President until the bank was bought out and then he decided to build his own business in insurance and financial services.

Paulding was an ideal place to raise a family because of the small-town atmosphere. It’s here they added five more children to their family. The children were able to have jobs like paper routes and work at local businesses which allowed them to gain some great experiences. They attended a small branch of the church in neighboring towns where Bob held several different callings and grew his testimony of the gospel.

Eventually they moved back to Columbus for greater employment opportunities. This is where he learned to drive truck and that is the career he retired from. Their thirty-eight years in Columbus brought new experiences for the family with different jobs, schools and church family. Bob was able to join in many adventures while his boys were in the scouting program which was something he had anticipated for a long time. There were many camp outs and experiments with building survival skills which he really enjoyed.

Most of his children settled as adults in the Columbus area while his oldest and youngest lived out of state. Traci brought her kids from Utah every summer to stay with Grandma and Grandpa, so they built a strong bond with the Ohio family. Having so many kids and grandkids close by allowed for many opportunities of gathering on a regular basis. Many of his grandkids have grown up with having had outings with grandpa. They cherish these memories. They loved his teasing nature and knew that grandpa really cared about them.

In retirement, Bob was able to fulfill his dream of traveling America with a travel trailer. Bob and Lee made many trips enjoying much of the country and spending time with the out-of-state kids. He was very reluctant to give up his travel trailer and then eventually his truck when he became unable to drive great distances anymore. His last few years were spent at home with his sweet wife caring for him.

Bob will be missed by all his family. He leaves behind his wife Lee and their eight children and families. Traci (Brian) Nuttall and their six children, spouses and grandchildren. Kelly (Mike) Wood and her four children. Chris (Mark) Meldrum and her five children, spouses and grandchildren. Leanna (Tom) Hatch and their five children, spouses and grandchildren. Angie Armstrong and her dog children. Miranda Anikeev and her three sons. Jonathan Armstrong and Alex (Dalia) Armstrong and their four children. That is upwards of 30 grandchildren and a growing number of great grandchildren. Bob was cremated. A private family celebration of life will be held next summer.