Dorothy B Armstrong

Our beautiful, beloved mother, Dorothy Beatrice Arnold Armstrong, died at the age of 99 on August 29, 2020 at her home in Grafton, North Dakota, under the care of hospice and surrounded by her family.

She was born July 16, 1921 at St. John’s Hospital in Fargo.  She lived in Everest, North Dakota, graduating as valedictorian from Casselton High School.    She moved to Fargo to attend nursing school at St. John’s Hospital School of Nursing in 1939.  She received her R.N. degree in 1942, and was awarded the Scholastic Award Cup for academic excellence.  She later received her bachelor’s degree from North Dakota State University.   Dorothy married William Bennett Armstrong in 1942 in Fargo.  The couple moved to Montreal, Canada, so that Bill could complete his M.D. degree at McGill University.  Dorothy worked at the Montreal Neurological Institute where she became a head floor nurse and assisted Wilder Penfield, an eminent neurosurgeon, in research on seizures. Dorothy moved back to Fargo while Bill served in the U.S. Army during the war.  The couple returned to Montreal where Bill completed his residency and thereafter moved back to Fargo. Dorothy created a warm and loving home for Bill and their three children and was actively engaged in PTA, Campfire Girls, Boy Scouts and other community activities. In 1962, Dorothy returned to her nursing profession, working initially as a supervisor at Luke’s Hospital and then as a surgical nursing instructor at St Luke’s Hospital School of Nursing in Fargo, teaching at St. Luke’s for 21 years, retiring in 1985.  She filled her days doing volunteer work at St John’s Catholic Church (until the age of 95), gardening, entertaining and visiting her family, reading, and constantly challenging herself by learning.

Dorothy was preceded in death by her husband and is survived by her three children:  Bonnie Wilkins (Gerald), Jane Gibb (David), and Thomas Leigh Armstrong; five grandchildren: Catherine Wilkins (Andrew Lee), Susan Wilkins (Casey Miller), David Gibb III (Katie), Elizabeth Charles (Rick) and Joseph Gibb (Lauren Harris); seven great-grandchildren: Nicholas, Kristopher and Danica Gibb, Barrett and Emmett Charles, Madeleine Lee,  and Oliver Miller; and one great-great grandchild (Liam Gibb), all of whom adore her and consider themselves blessed to have had her in their lives.

A private Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Monday, September 7, 2020 at 11:00 A.M. at the St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church of Grafton.  The mass will be live streamed on the St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church Facebook page. Interment will be at the Sunset Memorial Garden Cemetery in Fargo. Masks will be required and social distancing guidelines will be followed. In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to the Great Plains Food Bank or the St. John’s Catholic Church.