After an unexpected and unwanted journey of over two years living with Lewy Body dementia, Jim was born to eternal life on July 26, 2025. Jim passed at Hamilton House under the care of Vitas Hospice.

Jim is survived by his beloved wife and soulmate, Jane, children, Laura Jones (Greg), their children Caleb and Chloe of Menomonee Falls, Andrew (Rhiannon) and their children Abigail and Grayson of Brentwood, CA, brother Jerry (Nancy) of West Des Moines, sister-in-law Mary Baker, brother-in-law Joe Peters of Ft Wayne, along with several nieces and nephews. He is also loved and remembered by Andre Paulon and family of Sao Paulo Brazil. He was preceded in death by his parents Zeke and Martha Armstrong, brother Jack and sister-in-law Barbara of Winchester, IN and brother-in-law Lynn Baker of Ft Wayne.

Jim was born in Elwood, IN on November 19, 1946, to Zelotes "Zeke" Armstrong and Martha Samuels. Jim grew up in a typical small Indiana town where his family was well known and everybody knew the three Armstrong boys. He shared his dad's interest in Indiana basketball and Indy car racing. Zeke was part-owner of a small plane and Jim took his first plane ride when he was a baby. The first of many adventures. Jim had a lifelong love of cars starting with a red Z28 Camaro-unfortunately he had to sell it to pay college tuition. He later drove a Beetle, a TR-6 and red Porsche. Jim attended the Indy 500 with his dad every year from the time he was in elementary school until he joined the Army in 1966.

After graduation from Wendell Willkie High School in 1965, Jim made the decision to join the Army and served in the Eighth Cavalry. He thought he had a foolproof plan to be in the motor pool, but because of the selection process he was assigned to the Infantry. Jim arrived in Vietnam in December of 1966. On February 23, 1967, his platoon was walking in the jungle and an IED exploded under his feet. By the grace of God, he survived but seriously wounded. He always credited the Huey and its crew for saving his life. He was placed on a sling and pulled upward to the helicopter swinging through the trees under gunfire. He was airlifted to a field hospital and then to a hospital for surgery. He spent many months in Japan recovering and learning to walk. The Army gave him three choices of where he wanted to be stationed. His first choice was back to the states, remain in Japan, or Hawaii. He was posted to Pusan, South Korea. He was discharged in 1968. He returned to Elwood and sold cars before enrolling in the School of Business at Indiana University. As fate would have it both he and Jane were living in the same apartment complex. They married on May 20, 1972, in Fort Wayne, IN.

After graduation he began working for WESCO, a division of Westinghouse, in Muncie, IN. He began working in the warehouse and soon moved to a sales position. In September 1975, Jim was making sales calls in rural western Indiana. As he was driving down the road, he saw a woman frantically waving. When he stopped, she told him that she had discovered her toddler face down in a small pool and she was not breathing, Jim immediately began giving the little girl CPR and she started breathing. The ambulance arrived and she was taken to the hospital. The next day the county sheriff called the WESCO office looking for Jim and told Jim's boss what had happened. His boss was amazed that Jim never mentioned saving a child's life. The local paper ran a story, and the Chairman of Westinghouse wrote to thank him for his heroic deed. The paper quoted him as saying he took the CPR training in a health class for "an easy A".

While in Muncie, Jim began volunteering in the Big Brother program and was matched with an eight-year-old boy. He loved spending time with Darrel and sought ways to positively influence his life.

After a few years Jim was promoted to a branch manager position and transferred to Kokomo. Even after the move Jim saw his Little Brother regularly. In 1981, he was chosen Big Brother of the Year by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Indiana.

In 1984 Jim was asked to move to Milwaukee to manage the local WESCO Branch. The family found a home and wonderful community in Cedarburg. In 1993, he was recruited to a sales position with Boggis-Johnson and promoted to sales manager in 2003. Jim was a gifted salesman and wanted all his salesmen to succeed. He had a long and fruitful career in the electrical industry and led by example.

October 14, 2010, was a memorable day- he retired and his granddaughter Abigail was born.

Jim was a devoted husband, father and grandfather taking particular delight in his four grandchildren. He was interested in whatever they did. Introducing them to pickleball gave him great joy.

Jim had a kind and generous heart, giving of his time and resources expecting nothing in return. When asked about his involvement in church life he said he was in charge of the Pickleball ministry. He enjoyed tutoring inner-city children, serving at the Cathedral Center and participating in the Angel Tree ministry. He and Jane were part of a Medical Mission team from Crossroads serving in Ecuador.

The family suggests memorials to Wounded Warriors or Tunnels to Towers.

Services are planned for Saturday, September 13, 2025, at 11:00AM at Crossroads Presbyterian Church in Mequon (6031 W Chapel Hill Rd. Mequon, WI 53097).

This life is not for the body it is for the soul.