Martha Lillian (Thrush) Armstrong

 Martha Lillian Armstrong

    RAWLINGS, MD - My precious mother, Martha Lillian Armstrong, 95, of Rawlings, MD, tragically passed away on November 8, 2021 after a fatal car accident. 

     Martha (Mom) was born on March 27, 1926 in Headsville, WV, to the late Albert Vause Thrush, Sr. and Nina Lilian Thrush. She is also preceded in death by her loving husband of 52 years, Lieutenant Colonel Clement Harold Armstrong and her brother Albert V. Thrush, Jr. 

     After Mom graduated from Keyser High School in 1944, she then went on to work at the family-owned Homestead Hotel, in Burlington, WV. This is where she met the love of her life; Clement “Harold” Armstrong (Dad). They were married in 1952 and she became a devoted career Air Force wife and mother to their only son; Robert “Bob” Keith Armstrong.  After a tour of duty in the Philippines; Mom, Dad & I boarded the USS President Roosevelt for an adventurous ride back to the USA from October 16, 1967 to November 4, 1967. We visited many places along our trip, Manilla, Hong Kong, Yokohama, Honolulu and finally arrived in San Francisco, CA. While traveling to bases both in the US and abroad, Mom volunteered at many hospitals and remained an active organizer in the Military Officers Wives club. Mom reveled in her life as an Air Force wife and shared with many, “I would not change a thing and would do it all over again”.

     After Dad retired from the USAF in 1973, Mom spent the next twenty years as a tour guide with Blue and White Bus Lines traveling to many locations to include Alaska. As a homemaker, Mom was a devoted wife and mother. Her love for her Lord, her family and her friends will forever be a blessing to all of us who know her and love her. 

     Mom was a long-standing member of the Rawlings United Methodist Church, Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and the Red Hat Society. She had an amazing sense of humor, abundant love for her family and enjoyed having coffee with her dear friends. 

     Surviving and forever remembered by her devoted son, Robert “Bob” K. Armstrong, sisters-in-law, Catherine Armstrong & Lucille Stair; brother-in-law, Lieutenant Colonel William C. Armstrong; stepdaughter, Bonnie Coile (West), sister, Leila J. (Thrush) Garrett, and many loving nieces and nephews. 

     Family and friends will be received at 1:00 p.m. on Friday November 19, 2021 followed by a 2:00 p.m. memorial service at Markwood Funeral Home, Keyser, WV. A funeral service will be held on Thursday, January 20, 2022 the Old Post Chapel, 204 Lee Ave, Fort Myers, Virginia at 3:00pm with Senior Chaplain Richard S. Beyea, III, Lt Col, USAF officiating.  Interment and committal service will follow in the Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia.

     Condolences may be left for the family of Martha L Armstrong at www.markwoodfuneralhome.com

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