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Birth:          20 Dec 1917 Albany, N.Y.
Death:          26 Sep 2002 Napa Valley, Cal.

Notes
obit of Helen Clinton Larson on findagrave
obit of Prudence Clinton Armstrong
http://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/obituaries/john-
armstrong/article_46a2de62-3590-5cec-b8de-3284861d3e5a.html
Major John Russell (Jack) Armstrong, USAF Retired, a resident of The Meadows of 
Napa Valley since 1997, died peacefully there on Sept. 26, 2002 at the age of 84.

Born on Dec. 20, 1917, in Albany, N.Y., to Frank Coffey Armstrong and Carolyn Adele 
Clapp Armstrong, Jack was the middle of three sons. He spent his youth in Larchmont, 
N.Y., graduated from Mamaroneck High School and attended the University of North 
Carolina. Always a people person, Jack was fun loving and adventurous. In high 
school, he and his friends formed the NMC (Not Much of a Club) instead of following 
the crowd and joining a fraternity. After high school, they held reunions and remained 
lifelong friends. His wanderlust emerged early, when he hitchhiked through Canada as 
a teenager, just to see the sights. His youthful summers were filled with his favorite 
pastimes: tennis, sailing on Long Island Sound, horseback riding with his cousins at 
his Uncle White's farm and stables in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and hanging out on 
White's beach.

When he was a little older, he spent many an evening dancing (one of his other 
passions) at the Glen Island Casino and listening to his friend, Glen Miller, and his 
orchestra. He joined the U.S. Army Air Corps (which eventually became the U.S. Air 
Force). During World War II, he flew B-17s as a bombardier, serving a tour of duty in 
England. He celebrated V-E Day in London.

Jack met his late wife, Prudence (Prue) Clinton, while stationed at Big Spring 
Bombardier School (later Webb Air Force Base) in Big Spring, Texas, where he was an 
instructor. She was beautiful, sweet and loved to dance. When Jack was transferred 
to Wenatchee, Wash., they decided that they couldn't live without each other, so 
Prue rode the train all the way to Wenatchee, where they were married on July 1, 
1943. She was the love of his life, his "Yellow Rose of Texas." They were married for 
53 years until her death in September 1996.

After the war, Jack remained in the Air Force Reserves while working as a sales 
representative for Ton Tex Corp., an industrial belting company. With New Jersey as 
his territory, he was soon their top salesman and bought a home in Ho-ho-kus, N.J. In 
1951, he was called back to active duty in the U.S. Air Force to serve in the Korean 
War. By then, the family included a daughter, Carol, and a son, John. This was the 
beginning of a renewed active duty career that lasted until his retirement in 1966 at 
McClellan Air Force Base in Sacramento. During this 15-year period, Jack and his 
family lived all over the country and the world, including a tour of duty on the island of 
Okinawa, Japan, and three years in England, where Carol went to high school and 
John attended junior high school.

After retirement, Jack resumed his career with Ton Tex Corp., but this time with 
Northern California as his territory. Jack and Prue bought a home in Livorna Estates in 
Walnut Creek, where they saw Carol and John through college and eventually lived for 
over 30 years. Jack retired from Ton Tex in 1980 and enjoyed a leisurely life of 
entertaining friends and traveling with his beloved Prue (and his other passion, 
watching sports — especially baseball). After his wife's death, he sold his home in 
Walnut Creek and moved to the Meadows of Napa Valley to be near his daughter. 
Jack made many wonderful friends at The Meadows, including his dear friend and 
companion of the past six years, Gerda Carlson. Although he will be greatly missed by 
all, he was truly blessed to have lived such a very full, interesting and friend-filled life.

Jack is survived by his daughter, Carol Armstrong Mitchell, and her husband, Michael 
Eugene Miller, of Napa; his son, John Clinton Armstrong, and his wife, Barbara Myers 
Armstrong, of Thousand Oaks; granddaughters: Noel Prudence (Ross) Waldvogel and 
her husband, Stephen Eugene Waldvogel, of Camden Park, Amy Lynn Armstrong of 
Los Angeles and Lindsay Anne Mitchell of Napa; grandsons John Stephen (Jack) 
Armstrong of Pasadena, William Russell (Bill) Ross and his wife, Kathleen Ann (Katie 
Savage), Ross of Napa and Lawrence Frederick (Larry) Ross of Davis; great-
grandchildren Stephen Eugene Waldvogel Jr. and Christopher William Waldvogel of 
Camden Park, Brienne McKenzie Ross of Napa and Isaiah Eduardo Orozco of Napa. 
He also leaves many wonderful nieces and nephews.

Jack was predeceased by his wife, Prudence Clinton Armstrong; his brother, Robert 
Clapp Armstrong of Saratoga Springs, N.Y.: and his brother, George Fox Armstrong of 
Basking Ridge, N.J.

Funeral services will be held at noon Monday at Oakmont Memorial Park and Mortuary, 
2099 Reliez Valley Rd., Lafayette.


Parents
ARMSTRONG Frank Coffey ()
CLAPP Carolyn Adele ()

Siblings
ARMSTRONG John Russell ("Jack") (20 Dec 1917 - 26 Sep 2002)

Marriage To CLINTON Prudence Mae ("Prue") ("Prudie") (3 Sep 1925 - 21 Sep 1996)
    m. 1 Jul 1943 Wenatchee, Wash.

Notes

Parents
CLINTON James Robert Jefferson (24 Jan 1884 - 19 Jun 1935)
TUCKER Arizona Kate ("Katie Arizona") (23 Oct 1895 - 27 Sep 1980)

Children by CLINTON Prudence Mae ("Prue") ("Prudie") 3 Sep 1925 - 21 Sep 1996
ARMSTRONG Carol ()
ARMSTRONG John Clinton ()

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