GERRY - Morton C. ''Mort'' Armstrong, 78, of Gerry, dedicated teacher, skilled craftsman, and devout church leader, passed to his eternal reward on Nov. 13, 2012, at his home, under the loving care of his wife, Kathryn, following a long struggle with leukemia.
He was born Nov. 5, 1934, in a farm house in Randolph, to Grove L. Armstrong Sr. and Eva Reynolds Armstrong, and gra-duated from Cattaraugus High School in 1953, while working on the family farm in East Otto. He then en-tered Roberts Wesleyan College, receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree in English with honors in 1957.
While in college he met Kathryn Mae ''Kay'' Anderson, and they were married in the Jamestown Free Methodist Church on Aug. 31, 1957. Just two months later Mort was drafted into the U.S. Army, where he served with the CIA for two years.
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Following his discharge in 1959, he taught English in Baltimore for a year be-fore accepting a position in the English department at Cassadaga Valley High School, where he would remain until his retirement in 1990. He completed his studies for his master's degree at Fredonia State in 1968. He was a highly respected teacher as evi-denced by the messages he received from more than 100 of his former students during his illness.
Following his retirement from teaching, Mort put his carpentry skills to full-time use, building and remodeling homes for dozens of residents in the area, in-cluding a home for his son and a large addition to his own home. In his spare time, he loved to play golf and was a member of the McDonald's Senior Golf Tour.
He was very involved in the Gerry Free Methodist Church, where nearly every part of the church shows the effects of his carpentry skills. He served on the Of-ficial Board, the board of trustees, the building committee, the pastor's cabinet, taught Sunday school, was elected as delegate from the church to the Genesee Annual Conference for many years, sang in the choir and was the tenor singer in the Valley Quartet. In addition, he served on the executive board of the Gerry Homes for 25 years, holding several different offices there. He was highly respected by all who knew him as a man of deep integrity.
Mort was preceded in death by his parents; and a son, Thomas E. Armstrong, in 2003.
He is survived by Kay, his wife of 55 years; a son, Charles D. Armstrong and wife, Heather, and two grandchildren: Galen and Hannah Armstrong, of Etna, Maine; and a brother, Grove L. Armstrong Jr., of Waxhaw, N.C.
A celebration of Morton's life will be held in the Gerry Free Methodist Church at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 17. The family will receive friends in the church sanctuary on Friday from 4 to 7 p.m. and one hour prior to the service. Memorials may be made to the Gerry Free Methodist Church; or Hospice of Chautauqua County.
Arrangements by Jordan Funeral Home, Sinclairville.
