Lula Armstrong

With a life that spanned nearly a century, Lula Armstrong taught us what love really means through the life she lived each day. A gentle and quiet woman by nature, she was a blessing in the lives of so many others within her reach. With a special place in her heart for children, Lu fully devoted her days to raising a bustling brood of children, but she would have surely agreed that there is nothing like doting over a clan of grandchildren. She traveled all across our great land and enjoyed trading the cold Michigan winters in for the warmth of the South, but she always loved being wherever her family was gathered more than anywhere else. The vibrant mosaic of memories she leaves behind will remain a lasting treasure for generations to come.

If one could turn back the hands of time to the year 1912, they would reveal an America that looks so different from the America we know today. Unsafe working conditions plagued cities from coast to coast and with no child labor laws in place, the younger generation was often affected the most. It was as this new year dawned that a young family from Vicksburg, Michigan, was eagerly preparing for the birth of their third baby. Lula Mae made her arrival on March 19th of that year and was welcomed into the family of Gerry and Ella (Tuttle) Kniss. She was one of six children in her family including her brothers, George and Edwin, and her sisters, Ethel, Florence, and Alice. Raised in the family home in Parchment, Lula experienced a childhood that was rather typical for her generation. She enjoyed family times spent walking to the grocery store with her mother and her siblings complete with a taxi ride home - what a treat! The memories she made jumping the train with a picnic and traveling to the lake and back were always some of her favorites as well.

Lula attended local schools through the 10th grade, which was not uncommon during 1920s. She soon found work at Kalamazoo Vegetable Paper Company where she soon caught the eye of a coworker with whom she would share a lifetime of love. His name was James Armstrong and he was easily smitten by the young Lu. In an attempt to win her heart, he serenaded her on his harmonica out on the front porch of the family home. Deeply in love, the couple became husband and wife on May 24,1930, at her parents’ home.

Like she had been doing it all her life, Lu settled right in to her roles as a wife and homemaker at their home in Cooper. It wasn’t long before their first of four children arrived. Lu fully immersed herself into caring for her husband as well as Jim, Jerry, Patsy, and Jack. Everything that came out of her kitchen was fantastic, but she was especially famous for her apricot cookies. Life in the Armstrong home was always abuzz with activity and to maintain her own sanity, Lu got her “out” by working part-time at the IGA grocery store in Cooper.

Throughout her life Lula had a rather creative side. She loved sewing and doing needlework, and she also crocheted and did cross-stitch as well. Lu was a member of the EGS sewing club and for many years the meaning of the “EGS” was kept under wraps. It wasn’t until much later that she finally revealed that it meant “Eat, Gab, and Sew.” Lu was also a lifetime member of the OES Wickwire Chapter 57. Additionally, she kept her mind sharp by regularly completing crossword puzzles.

There was nothing that was ever more important to Lu than her family. For several years she loved selling tickets to the Grand Stand at the Kalamazoo County Fair with her sister-in-law. After they retired, Lu and Jim traveled extensively throughout the country, making it to all the states except for Hawaii. She enjoyed their travels, but actually would have preferred to stay home. It was out of her deep love for and devotion to Jim that Lu agreed to going along on all the excursions. Much of their traveling was done with a pop-up camper, and they later graduated to a full size camper-trailer before they eventually ended up with a permanent trailer in Florida. They spent several of their winters in the warm sunshine of both Florida and Texas. By the time spring was in the air, Lu was always excited to get back home again. They also spent their retirement years working for a car dealership delivering cars from one place to another as needed.

With a deep love for each other, Lu and Jim treasured each other’s companionship. They loved their soap operas with As the World Turns being her favorite. They were thrilled to welcome grandchildren into their family, and Lu seized every opportunity to spoil them and dote over them. She was a great listener and so proud of all 11 of her grandchildren.

As they entered their sunset years, Lu’s devotion to her husband provides us all with a vivid picture of what marriage is truly intended to be. She was deeply saddened with his death in 1994 since for the first time in nearly 65 years, she was without her beloved companion.

For a time, Lu continued to live on her own, but she eventually went to live at Baraga Senior Apartments. When she began slowing down further, she moved to assisted living at the William Crispe Community House where the balance between independence and assistance was just what she needed until just this past June. It was a fall that caused a broken tailbone severe enough to warrant intense nursing rehabilitation that changed her way of life. Lu went to the Life Care Center for rehabilitation and recovery, but was unable to fully bounce back.

With her warm smile and friendly demeanor, Lula Armstrong was a delight in the lives of her family, friends, and community. She was selfless in the way she cared for others and was content in whatever life brought her way. The timeless wisdom Lu leaves behind will live on in the hearts and lives of the children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren she loved more than life itself. She will be deeply missed.

Lula M. Armstrong died August 3, 2011. Lu’s family includes her children, Jerry (Carol) Armstrong, Patsy Nyberg, and Jack (Ellen) Armstrong; 11 grandchildren; 20 great-grandchildren; 3 great-great-grandchildren; sister, Alice Gates; brother-in-law, Jack Armstrong as well as numerous nieces, nephews and other relatives. Lu was preceded in death by her husband, Jim; her son & daughter-in-law, James (Marilyn) Armstrong; her son-in-law, Larry Nyberg; her sisters, Ethel Troyer & Florence Stafford; and her brothers, George Kniss & Edwin Kniss. Visit with her family on Wednesday from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon at Life Story Funeral Home, Plainwell; 120 S. Woodhams (685-5881) where a memorial service will be held Wednesday at 12:00 noon. Please visit www.lifestorynet.com where you can archive a memory or photo, sign her memory book online before coming to the funeral home, or make a memorial donation to The William Crispe Community House.