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Roderick William Armstrong

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Birth	:	18 Nov 1928 Kirksville, Adair County, Missouri, USA
Death	:	24 Jul 2013 Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, USA
Burial	:	Aspen Grove Cemetery, Burlington, Des Moines County, USA
Coordinate	:	40.8269005, -91.1194000
Description	:	Roderick William Armstrong, age 84, passed away on July 24, 2013, in Council Bluffs, Iowa. He was born on November 18, 1928, to Frederick and Tina M. Armstrong in Kirksville, Mo. He had older twin sisters, Margaret and Frances, and an older brother Richard. His family moved to Burlington in the 1940s when his father got a carpenter's job at the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant (IAAP). He graduated from Burlington High School in 1946 and later graduated from Burlington Junior College with an Associate Degree in Electrical Engineering. Roderick married Anna Horst October 15, 1948, at First Presbyterian Church in Burlington,... Read More	Roderick William Armstrong, age 84, passed away on July 24, 2013, in Council Bluffs, Iowa. He was born on November 18, 1928, to Frederick and Tina M. Armstrong in Kirksville, Mo. He had older twin sisters, Margaret and Frances, and an older brother Richard. His family moved to Burlington in the 1940s when his father got a carpenter's job at the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant (IAAP). He graduated from Burlington High School in 1946 and later graduated from Burlington Junior College with an Associate Degree in Electrical Engineering. Roderick married Anna Horst October 15, 1948, at First Presbyterian Church in Burlington, Iowa. They had 3 children, Carol, of San Francisco, Roger, of Burlington, and Eric, of Carter Lake, Iowa. Rod worked as an electrician for the CB&Q railroad for 16 years. He was then an electronic technician at Mason & Hanger at IAAP. After that, he was a technical writer and professional photographer at Winegard Company retiring in 1990. He was known as a "Mr. Fixit", "Inventor", and "Bicycle Repair Man," because of his simple clever solutions to problems both large and small. He spent a lot of time with his kids and grandchildren. He loved the out of doors, gardening, sailing, iceboating, windsurfing, cross country skiing, and woodworking. In his retirement, he rescued many broken mystery items from auctions, figured out what was wrong, fixed them, and found them new homes. He collected and organized a workshop with an extensive collection of tools both modern and antique. Blowing up marshmallows in vacuum tubes and coming up with fun experiments was one of his joys. Rod was a master of building jigs and fixtures so that his finished work was perfect and repeatable. There was nothing he could not invent, engineer, fix or build. Rod was always tinkering with something electrical or mechanical, but he especially enjoyed repairing engines. He taught his kids and grandkids about steam engines and he rebuilt one cylinder hit and miss engines with his grandsons. The largest item he brought home from an auction was a 1937 Farmall F20 decrepit rusted out tractor. With help from his grandsons, he totally over hauled the tractor to a rebuilt working specimen. Among the things he built and in vented were automated pecan crackers, French rolling pins, and ornamental wooden butterflies. He built tree houses for his children and a generation later another for his grandchildren. A major achievement for him was creating seven beautiful grandfather clocks; from cutting and drying the cherry tree lumber for years and handcrafting the wood into family heirlooms that took thousands of hours to complete. Any sport on water was mastered - motor boating, water skiing, fishing, sailing, windsurfing, and ice boating. He even built an ice rink in his backyard for his family that allowed for many memorable ice-skating activities. For many winters he raced ice boats with his son all over North America. When he wasn't racing he was building and tuning the boats to be some of the fastest boats racing in North America and some of the equipment he built is still being raced throughout the world today. No vegetable garden was ever large enough for Rod. Proud of having the earliest tomatoes in town, he built a greenhouse and started his plants in mid-winter. He furnished free garden produce to the neighborhood and far beyond. The house always had fresh flowers year round from indoor and outdoor gardening. Rod loved animals, cats were his passion. Over the years, he adopted many strays, especially those born under his back porch. Ducks and rabbits were also among the menagerie of pets in his care over the years. He was team captain and support domestique for the three-generation family RAGBRAI cycling team consisting of his son, grandsons, and nephew leading the team across the state of Iowa. Rod was the original road warrior traveling frequently with family in tow to the Florida Keys; traveled across country to visit his daughter Carol in San Francisco, through many a national park and down the west coast. He and Anne also enjoyed the flavors and sights of Europe, but his favorite respite was the shores of the Mississippi for sailing and camping as often as possible. Rod loved music and took up restoring player pianos and Hammond spinet organs. He collected piano rolls and vintage sheet mu sic to go with them. Rod moved with the times, playing music through his iPad amazed how he could find, "any," music he wanted online. Rod's love of photography began in the 1950's as a hobby. As his passion grew from family and vacation photos in the early days, Rod also did industrial photography for work. His serious interest gave him a wide array of camera's and equipment as well as dark room's both at work and home. Many historic photos of Burling ton from the 1800's can be found on display in local museums, restaurants and public buildings as a result of Rod restoring old negatives. In the cooking arena Rod made the best popcorn especially that grown by family. Using his clever inventiveness he motorized 100 plus year old corn sheller and added a chafing system. The machine processed literally tons of popcorn that was distributed to people around the world. He was predeceased by his parents; brother, Richard; sister, Margaret; and son-in-law, David Thistlethwaite.

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is Roderick William Armstrong's memorial?
Roderick William Armstrong's memorial is located at: Aspen Grove Cemetery, Burlington, Des Moines County, USA.
When did Roderick William Armstrong death?
Roderick William Armstrong death on 24 Jul 2013 in Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, USA
Where are the coordinates of the Roderick William Armstrong's memorial?
Latitude: 40.8269005
Longitude: -91.1194000

Family Members:

Parent

Frederick A. Armstrong

(1891 - 1968)

Mrs Tina Katherine Muder Armstrong

(1891 - 1966)

Spouse

Anna Harritt “Annie” Horst Armstrong

(1929 - 2018)

Siblings

Margaret Jane Armstrong Altenberger

(1924 - 2013)

Richard F Armstrong

(1926 - 1981)

Flowers:

Nearby Cemetories:

1. Aspen Grove Cemetery
Burlington, Des Moines County, USA
Coordinate: 40.8269005, -91.1194000

2. Burlington Jewish Cemetery
West Burlington, Des Moines County, USA
Coordinate: 40.8217000, -91.1311000

3. North Sixth Street Cemetery
Burlington, Des Moines County, USA
Coordinate: 40.8205986, -91.1022034

4. Burlington Memorial Park
Burlington, Des Moines County, USA
Coordinate: 40.8417000, -91.1514000

5. Wykert Cemetery
Burlington, Des Moines County, USA
Coordinate: 40.8580000, -91.1336000

6. Saint Marys Catholic Cemetery
West Burlington, Des Moines County, USA
Coordinate: 40.8240738, -91.1691437

7. Meyers Family Plot
Burlington, Des Moines County, USA
Coordinate: 40.8658000, -91.1185000

8. Steingreaber Cemetery
Burlington, Des Moines County, USA
Coordinate: 40.8668300, -91.1257600

9. Flint River Township Cemetery
Des Moines County, USA
Coordinate: 40.8655000, -91.1540000

10. Greenwood Cemetery
West Burlington, Des Moines County, USA
Coordinate: 40.8367004, -91.1838989

11. Walden Family Cemetery
Des Moines County, USA
Coordinate: 40.8778155, -91.1265352

12. Chief Taimah Memorial Site
Burlington, Des Moines County, USA
Coordinate: 40.8755935, -91.0918120

13. Sacred Heart Cemetery
Burlington, Des Moines County, USA
Coordinate: 40.7733002, -91.0991974

14. Spring Creek Cemetery
West Burlington, Des Moines County, USA
Coordinate: 40.7980995, -91.1892014

15. Inghram Cemetery
Des Moines County, USA
Coordinate: 40.8406000, -91.1996000

16. Johnson Cemetery
Des Moines County, USA
Coordinate: 40.8231000, -91.2021000

17. Old County Home Cemetery
Des Moines County, USA
Coordinate: 40.8043800, -91.2040500

18. Prugh Farm Plot
Burlington, Des Moines County, USA
Coordinate: 40.7583730, -91.1140340

19. Porter Cemetery
Burlington, Des Moines County, USA
Coordinate: 40.7693000, -91.1702000

20. Swede Cemetery
Burlington, Des Moines County, USA
Coordinate: 40.7756000, -91.1836000

21. Cowles Farm Plots
Burlington, Des Moines County, USA
Coordinate: 40.7551000, -91.1093000

22. North Walker Cemetery
Des Moines County, USA
Coordinate: 40.8993988, -91.1057968

23. Latty Church Cemetery
Burlington, Des Moines County, USA
Coordinate: 40.9030000, -91.1220000

24. Walker Family Plot
Burlington, Des Moines County, USA
Coordinate: 40.8892700, -91.1779200