Christine Marie Armstrong, 78, Died on Tuesday, May 27, 2014 at 7:00pm with her family present, at the E.T. York Hospice Care Center, after a battle with Pancreatic Cancer.
Mrs. Armstrong was born April 17, 1936 in New Bedford, MA to Antone Bento and Mary Mendonca Medeiros. Christine first moved to this area from Colorado in 1983.
Christine did secretarial work in the medical field for many years but, most of all she was a devoted Housewife, Mother, Grandmother, & Great Grandmother. Christine was a member of the Alachua First United Methodist Church. She Loved to Garden and was a Clown with the Gainesville Sunshine Clowns and her name was “Cuddles”.
Christine is survived by her husband of nearly 60 years, Donald “Don” Armstrong, four sons, Donald “Tony” (Nicolette), David E. (Teri), Dennis (Lorie), Kenneth (Annette) Armstrong, two daughters, Sandra (Clay) Guenther, and Elizabeth “Liz” (Thomas) Cooper, 15 grandchildren, and 17 great grandchildren..
The family will receive friends at the FOREST MEADOWS FUNERAL HOME on Thursday, May 29, 2014 from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. located at 725 N. W. 23rd Ave. Gainesville, FL 32609. Funeral Services will be held on Friday, May 30, 2014 at 11:00 a.m. at the Alachua First United Methodist Church, 14805 N.W. 140th St., Alachua, FL 32616, with Rev. Lamar Albritton officiating. Burial will follow the reception after the service at Forest Meadows Memorial Park, 4100 N.W. 39th Ave, Gainesville, FL 32606.
If anyone would like to make a donation, we believe Mom would want it to go to E.T. York Hospice Care Center, 4200 NW 90th Blvd, Gainesville, FL 32606
We at Bright Hope-Laurel United Methodist Church in the mountains of Mars Hill, NC will truly miss Chris’ always bright smile and spirit. She has moved from earthly death and pain and is reborn as spirit. God Bless this new Birth.
Our thoughts and prayers are with all your family. May God bless you and give you courage through this hard time. At the exact time that Chris Passed away Lenny and I, My son Jason and his family and my daughter Michelle and her family, we were all together praying the rosary for Chris. God does work in many ways. Love to your whole family. Thank you Chris and Don for all that you have done for me in the past. Love Cousin Cindy
Our condolences to Don and family as we on the mountain will all miss Chris greatly. She is a special person who loves her Lord as well as others. We can be assured she is now in that place of joy with no darkness, no tears, no pain and no death. Way to go, Chris! You lived and loved well, enjoy your reward.
My husband and I wish the family much peace knowing that Christine is safe at home. I loved her and the poems that she wrote. She was very talented. I also wish I had a picture of her as a clown because I think she really enjoyed herself when she was one. I live in the San Diego area – too far from each other for personal visits but we kept in touch by talking on the phone. I will miss her very much.
Frankie
Our dear friend Chris is an example of Christianity in its truest form. Her caring for others during her own personal struggles showed her true spirit of Jesus. Those who spent time with Chris will remember her for her tenacity and kindness.
Don and family,
Our condolences thoughts and prayers. Memories never to be forgotten. Chris was so used by God and a blessing to all. We rejoice that she is now in Gods presence.
An amazingly great lady; Chris will be sorely missed by all who knew her.
We will miss Chris our friend and neighbor. She was and will always be a Blessing that came into our life. Chris will be a shinning Angel in Heaven and when I look up I will know she is there and watching over all of us. Her first thoughts were always Lets Pray together and have Faith in God’s Will. I will miss those times on the phone and in her home.
God Bless you Don and your family at this time. Chris will never be forgotten as God gave her a voice to praise Him and Love everyone.
Bud & Phyllis
Don and family,
We are very sorry to not be able to be there but know that our hearts are heavy with sadness . We love Chris and she is ” our sister in Christ”. We take comfort in knowing that someday we will rejoice and laugh with her and all the pain, sorrow, sickness and tradegy of this earth will be forgotten! Get on your dancing shoes, Chris!!
We will miss her bright smile and caring heart here at Bright Hope Laurel UMC. She always had time to listen and sent many of us one of her special poems. We know she is happy to be in Heaven. We send our prayers to Don and all of your family.
Dear Don and family,
We are so sorry that we cannot be there. Our hearts are heavy with sadness. Chris was our “sister in Christ” and we know that someday all the pain, sorrow, sickness, tradegy of this earth will be forgotten. Chris, get on your dancing shoes!
Our love and prayers go out to Don and all of the family. Chris loved her family so much as we heard about each of them often. Our Wolf Laurel Bible Study that went on for almost 15years reaped the benefits of the knowledge Chris had for the word of God and the power of His Holy Spirit. She will truly be missed up on the Wolf Laurel Mountain. Louis and Lois-Lynn Bellemare
Dear Don and family,
We are so sorry that we cannot attend. Our hearts are heavy. We take comfort in knowing that someday we will rejoice and smile with Chris again. She is our “sister in Christ” and that pain, sickness, sorrow and tradegy of this earth will be forgotten. Chris, put on your dancing shoes!
Our heartfelt condolences to the Armstrong family. Praying that you find peace and comfort knowing that her struggle is over, and she is enjoying her heavenly home.
Dear Don and family,
May God comfort you at this time. What a witness as you all gathered around Chris to praise God in song. We thank God for having known Chris and cherish the memories. Her smile and her ‘Zap him (George ) Lord’ as we worshipped at ELC; her word in season as my (Valsa) prayer partner. Truly she was a Blessing to many. Thank God for Chris and Don’s hospitality as we visited them at Asheville.
Will miss speaking with her on our next visit to the US.
Chris was a blessing to all who knew her; her beautiful Christian witness and constant smile will live on! May all the family find peace and comfort at this difficult time.
We have lost a dear and wonderful person. A good friend in High School. Always good to see her at the Helix High Reunions. She will be dearly missed. Our prayers are with you and your family.
We always looked forward in our Bible Studies at WL and at Bright Hope Laurel UMC to see and visit with Chris. She was such a blessing, so loving, kind and wise in God’s Word. Carolyn loved talking with her about things of the Lord, how the power of the Holy Sprit was working in her life and others and listening to her poems. Chris never complained and always had a big smile for everyone. She was a role model for us as believers in keeping a strong faith no matter what came her way. May God give you, Don, and the family peace and the comfort of the Holy Spirit during this time. We will never forget her.
I am so sorry for your loss and our heartfelt sympathy to the family. May the beautiful memories shared and God’s promise of seeing our loved ones again in the near future grant you peace and comfort at this very difficult time. (John 5:28,29)
My mother left this poem in a place she knew I would find it. This is a poem she wrote years ago to someone who had lost a loved one. She read it to me a few weeks ago and asked if it would be appropriate to send it to someone else she knew that also lost a loved one. If you would like to close your eyes and think about mom composing this poem it may help you to understand where her heart was for the person whom she originally wrote the poem. You should also have a deeper understanding of mom’s heart.
Then she left the poem for me. The poem is titled “Dear One”.
“DEAR ONE”
I woke up early this morning
With you in prayer and thought
A result of sympathy and love
To encourage your broken heart
The shock of losing “a loved one”
Is not easy, leaving a void
But we are not like others
Who seem to be without hope
We have God’s love and assurance
He’s created a heavenly home
Where pain and sorrow vanish
Replaced by laughter and joy
To those of us still remaining
We long to know and see
Wonderful things God’s prepared
For you and for me…
1 Corinthians 2:9 King James Version (this is the bible she read from). But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
By Christine M. Armstrong (my mother)
Thank you everyone for all the cards, letters, and emails of encouragement you sent to her. Mom counted up all the cards she has received since her diagnosis in January and it is over 400! Wow is all I can say, these definitely gave her hope and encouragement. She had recently started reading them all over again. This was my “love language” to her…to make sure she continued to get hope & encouragement throughout her battle.