“A limb has fallen from the family tree.”
It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Ellen Armstrong on July 8, 2020 in Red Deer, Alberta, with her son and daughter-in-law, Richard and Bonnie Armstrong, by her side. Ellen was born on March 20, 1943 and grew up on the family farm in Finland, Ontario.
For the past 10 years, we treasured the times we were able to spend with Ellen as she spent summers in Fort Frances and also lived in both Fort Frances and Emo for a period of time. During this time, Ellen and her sister, Ruth, were able to rekindle and strengthen the bond between them as one was not usually seen without the other. Summers were like a never-ending slumber party as they would always be staying up late talking, watching movies and then sleeping until noon. The sisters were also constantly “running the roads”; stopping to enjoy a coffee and visit with family, lunching at one of their favourite restaurants, taking road trips to visit family in Dryden, shopping excursions, or indulging in a treat at Dairy Queen (Ellen loved her ice cream). We soon learned that if we were going to catch up with them, we would have to call ahead to schedule a time to meet up with them. During our visits, Ellen would tell us family stories and shared her great sense of humour with us as she always had a few funny stories or jokes to tell.
One valuable lesson Ellen taught us all was that happiness is a choice; it is always there if we chose to open our eyes and hearts to find it. With all of the challenging times she had endured, from battling cancer to losing her son, husband, and siblings, Ellen’s unwavering faith and choice to find happiness in life sustained her through it all. Whenever life would throw her or someone she held dear a curveball, Ellen would find comfort in her unshakeable faith and prayed for each of us. Family was very important to Ellen and she taught us all that family is much more than a word, it’s a feeling of warmth and love that neither time nor distance can ever change.
Ellen was predeceased by her husband, Melvin Armstrong; son, Darcy Armstrong; her parents, John and Elizabeth Johnson; brothers, William (Beatrice) Johnson, Eric Johnson and Benjamin Johnson; sisters, Aino (John) Pelepetz, Lillian (Ingvald) Larson, Hilda (Judson) Hartlin, Lila (Vaino) Hannien, Edna (Floyd) Caul, twin Helen (Jack) Watson, Irene Hughes and brother-in-law Joseph Gray.
Left to cherish her memory, Ellen is survived by her son Richard (Bonnie) Armstrong of Lacombe, Alberta; son Kenneth (Linda) Armstrong of Regina, Saskatchewan; grandchildren: Jamie (Anna Renee) Bakala of Estevan, Saskatchewan, Sarah Armstrong of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia and Keenan Zeller; great-grandchildren: Sarah, Nevaeh and Sage Bakala, and Allison and Anna Pearce; sister, Ruth Gray of Fort Frances; and many nieces and nephews.
In lieu of donations, please honour Ellen by being kind to one another and by doing random acts of kindness. She lived her life with a firm belief that if you did a good deed, you would receive a blessing from God. Family and friends will gather to remember and celebrate Ellen’s life at a later date.
Ellen Armstrong
