Robert Wayne Armstrong, 77, passed away January 10, 2026, in Plano, Texas. He was born on October 11, 1948, in Los Angeles, California, to his loving parents, Granville C. Armstrong and Jean Marie (Alexander) Armstrong.
He proudly served in the United States Marines (1967-1971). After Boot Camp at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton and specific Marine Corps training stops, Robert deployed to Marble Mountain Air Facility (MMAF) outside of Da Nang in the Republic of Vietnam. He was part of the Marine Light Helicopter Squadron 167 (HML-167) as a Huey helicopter (UH-1E) mechanic and door gunner. Using his Active-Duty G.I. Bill from his service to our country, Robert earned and received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography from San Diego State University in 1975. With a SDSU Geography sheepskin and his Hewlett Packard mapping calculator in hand, he hitched-hiked to Ketchikan Alaska from San Diego. For two years, Robert surveyed, mapped, avoided grizzlies, hated salmon, watched the huge tidal changes, and took too many float plane trips inland. The fully engulfed red hair and equally long lumberjack beard made his way to Minneapolis to marry his college sweetheart, Paulette Anholm, and buy their first house. He started his professional career with Datacard leading the way into the “cashless society.” Robert loved sharing his stories and samples of the first magnetic stripe cards and even the new chip embedded “smart cards.” After divorce and then each winter, he and several buddies would head south and golf for 4 days straight (36+ holes each day). He really enjoyed his time on the course, and he was a great golfer! His technical leadership at Datacard moved him to a job at Avnet Electronics Marketing as a Manager of Supply Chain Services. Avnet brought Robert to the telecom mecca in Richardson, Texas. He retired from Avnet in 2008 and began traveling with his older brother Richard (only via a pick-up truck and always with Richard’s chihuahua). They grew remarkably close and saw many of our great USA POIs (National Parks and Monuments). He always loved photography and his travels with Richard allowed him to capture the travels on film. After Richard passed, Robert spent more time in Plano with Randy and Beverly sharing Sunday dinners with loving family. Robert was a voracious reader (newspaper, digital media, and books) and lover of stories about history and the old west. He had hobbies but none that took off like supporting a new business… John’s Crazy Socks. Robert would buy socks weekly; he would wear them daily to support his mood or a holiday; he even gifted a few to friends and family. He spent the last few years in the Conservatory At Plano (senior independent living) where he would join the afternoon happy hours, pool time, and a few “veteran” guy trips to local interests. Robert enjoyed all rounds of the PGA Tours on TV while watching birds on his balcony birdfeeder (with a golf rangefinder, nonetheless). Having no children of his own, he loved his nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews like his own (many times referred to the little ones as his grandchildren)! In short, Uncle Robert will be missed by several generations.
Robert is survived by his brother, Randall Joseph Armstrong (Beverly) of Plano, Texas and sister-in-law Lynn Irene (Sneddon) Armstrong of Cypress, Texas; nieces and nephews, Justin Karcher of McKinney, Texas, Lauren Groh (Steve) of Frisco, Texas, Nicholas Karcher (Samantha) of Aledo, Texas, Holly Armstrong (Jacob Wylie) of Magnolia, Texas, and April Harry (Will) of Little Elm, Texas; Suni Woolley (Rod) of Colorado Springs, Colorado; Richard Armstrong of Cypress, Texas; Janet Simmons (Stephen) of Cypress, Texas; Joanne Letona (Rob) of Cypress, Texas; great nieces and nephews, Makayla Groh, Callahan Groh, Keyes Groh, Charlotte Karcher, Harrison Karcher, Preston Karcher, Greg Woolley, Jeremy Woolley, Serena Murdock, Rachana Woolley, Peyton Armstrong, AJ Armstrong, Ethan Armstrong, Kendall Armstrong, Kellen Armstrong, Mason Simmons, Mackenzie Simmons, Evan Letona, Eliana Letona; and a host of family members and friends, who will miss him and fondly cherish his memory.
Robert was preceded in death by his parents, Granville and Jean Armstrong, brother, Richard Alexander Armstrong, and former spouse, Paulette Anholm.
A memorial service will be held at 10:00 a.m., Thursday, January 22, 2026, at Turrentine-Jackson-Morrow Funeral Home Chapel, 8520 Main Street, Frisco, Texas 75033.
The Funeral service will also be livestreamed at the following link https://celebrationoflife.tv/blog/robert-wayne-armstrong.
In lieu of flowers, Robert asked to support one of his favorite charities and to keep buying John’s Crazy Socks:
- St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital https://www.stjude.org/promotion/srch/impact-thanks.html
- The Nature Conservancy https://preserve.nature.org/page/184284/donate/1?locale=en-US
- United States Marine Corps Memorial Foundation https://usmcmemorialfoundation.org/