Charles W. Armstrong, age 80, a resident of Naperville for over 50 years, went to be with the Lord on May 14, 2010. He was born in Lansing, MI on September 25, 1929 and lived his early years on the family farm in Frederic, MI.
Chuck is the beloved husband of Patricia Kay (nee Stoddard) Armstrong whom he followed to Naperville and married on January 27, 1955, the loving father of Jacqueline Joy Kline of Ellwood City, PA, Rebecca Raye Monroe of Lisle, IL, and Henry C. W. Armstrong of Elgin, IL. He is grandfather to Jason Fregin, Charles Kline, Erin Kline, Eric Kline, Thalia Rothach (nee Mim Monroe), Matthew Monroe, and great grandfather to Aydin Kline.
Chuck attended classes at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago and was a founding member of Bible Baptist Church of Naperville. Chuck's brothers are John, Arvelle and Lyle Armstrong and his sisters are Nell Sherman and Rosie Owens. He was preceded in death by his father and mother John R. and Cleo (nee Crawford) Armstrong, brothers Jim and Gordon Armstrong and sister Ernestine Weaver.
Chuck was a carpenter and life member of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America Local Union 1889 for over 50 years, having worked for Concannon Builders, Tony Sikich, and Don A. Tosi before going into business with Tim Schmidt as T & C Custom Carpentry. Chuck built hundreds of houses in Naperville including several of the first passive solar models plus many churches and commercial buildings in the Chicago suburbs and two unique cabins in the woods of WI. He designed and built his own energy-efficient home "Prairie Sun" which was the first grid-tied solar electric home in Naperville.
Chuck's hobbies included: vegetable and herb gardening, rock collecting, Inca and Maya cultures, wood carving, furniture making, camping, canoeing, backpacking, mountain climbing and travel. He was a member of the Sierra Club and Chicago Mountaineering Club for over 45 years, leading many rock climbing outings at the Mississippi Palisades, IL, and Devil's Lake, WI, and teaching rock climbing and mountaineering skills for the College of DuPage Field Studies Department. He co-authored (with his wife) a book on Trilobites of the Chicago Region, and he climbed mountains in CO, WY, SD, TX, HI, AZ, NM, AK , GA as well as Canada, Mexico, Peru, New Zealand, Kenya and Australia.
A visitation will be held on Monday, May 17, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. and Tuesday from 10 to 11 a.m. at Calvary Church, 9S200 Route 59, in Naperville, IL, where a funeral service will be held on Tuesday at 11 a.m. Interment will be private.
Memorials may be made to the Alzheimer's Association, Greater Illinois Chapter 8430 Bryn Mawr Ave. Suite 800 Chicago, Illinois 60631-3473.
For more information and guest book see christianfuneralservices.com or contact Hultgren's Christian Funeral Service at 877-771-4513.