William "Ross" Armstrong

William Ross Armstrong passed away peacefully at the Quail Park retirement home in Granbury, Texas on March 1, 2012, one day shy of his 98th birthday. He is survived by his son Donald and his wife Karen, his grandson Cody and his wife Saori and his triplet great grandchildren Kaichi, Yuiko and Miko. He was laid to rest next to his wife at the Lawnhaven Memorial Gardens in San Angelo, Texas on March 3, 2012. Ross had a full and interesting life spanning almost a century. He grew up in San Angelo where he met and married his childhood sweetheart Mary Geneva Sanders. They had one child, Donald. When WWII started, he went to work for the civil service at Mathis Airfield and later at Goodfellow Air Force base in San Angelo. While working for the civil service he was also involved in ranching and home building part time. He retired from the civil service in 1962 while working at Webb Air Force base in Big Spring, Texas and he and his wife moved to Stephenville, Texas where he owned a farm and dairy. After retirement he became more involved in the dairy business, ranching, home building and banking. In 1977, he organized and co-founded the first Town and Country Bank in Stephenville which is still flourishing along with four other branch banks. He was honored for his achievements with a plaque when they opened the Town and Country Bank in Granbury in 2005, which is displayed outside the building. In 1980, he formed Armstrong Mutual Security Co., an insurance and investment company, which was solely operated by his family. His heritage dates back to Scotland and the Cherokee Nation and he was quite proud of his Indian heritage. He and his wife were very active in the Baptist church wherever they lived and both loved to travel. He was also a member of the Masons, Knights Templar and Scottish Rite for over 50 years. He was a man who achieved his dreams and visions and lived by the motto he always displayed on his desk. "The poorest of all men is not the one without a penny; it's the man without a dream."