Bruce A. Armstrong
December 2, 1956 ~ December 1, 2021
Bruce A. Armstrong, Greenwood, passed away on December 1, 2021 just one day shy of his 65th birthday after a brave battle with cancer. Bruce was born in Anderson, Indiana on December 2, 1956 to the late Meredith R. “Bill” Armstrong and Mary Lillian (née, Taubman) Armstrong. Joan (née, Snyder) Armstrong adopted Bruce after his mother passed away at an early age and his dad remarried. He wed Susan Heinz at Our Lady of the Greenwood Catholic Church on June 29, 1996; Susan and their two sons, Ryan and Nicholas Armstrong survive.
Bruce graduated from Decatur Central High School in the class of 1975 where he excelled in academics and was a member of the swim team. With a mechanically inclined mind, he pursued a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering and graduated from the General Motors Institute in Flint, Michigan in 1980. It was here that he joined Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity and earned his famous nickname, “Pibb”. Bruce decided to further his education by graduating from the University of Waterloo in Ontario in 1983, obtaining a Master of Mathematics degree. After 30 years of service, Bruce retired from General Motors in 2010 where he enjoyed working on hybrid vehicles with Allison Transmission. Four months later he returned to work at Faurecia; Bruce retired in 2020.
Aside from engineering, Bruce was proud to serve the city of Greenwood on their city council, District 3, for 16 years. Believing in always doing the right thing, Bruce was an honest man. He was a devoted man of faith and a member of Our Lady of the Greenwood Catholic Church.
Dabbling in nearly everything, Bruce was a Cub Scout den leader, USA swimming referee, soccer coach to his sons, and enjoyed sports photography. Bruce was the proud photographer for notable sports teams such as USA women’s tennis and Xavier and Butler Universities. He also enjoyed geocaching, trivia, family board game nights, scuba diving, skiing, bike races, road rallies, and ultimately, spending time with his family.
Bruce had a great sense of direction and relished in taking the scenic route on even the shortest of trips to recall certain locations along the way. Traveling was important, and Bruce was the coordinator of all trips with friends and family. He traveled to notable locations such as Europe, Australia, Canada, across the US, but most importantly Colorado and Hawaii. Bruce had a special way of making trips memorable and fun.
Selfless, ethical, principled, strong, and caring were just a few words that described Bruce best. He was always there for others, never expecting anything in return. Despite his health diagnosis of cancer in 2013, Bruce fought up until the end of his life with humility and grace. The way that he lived his life and modeled it for his sons will live on as his legacy. Bruce will be dearly missed.
Along with his parents, Bruce was preceded in death by his father and mother in law, Raymond and Mary (née Grannan) Heinz; brother in law, Brad Melser; other in laws, Janet (Jack) Garrison, Pat Hagedorn, and Jim Westfall.
Survivors include his wife, Susan (née, Heinz) Armstrong; sons, Ryan H. Armstrong and Nicholas A. Armstrong; sister, Nancy Melser; mother, Joan (née, Snyder) Armstrong; in-laws, Paul Hagedorn, Donna (Paul) Meny, Dolores (Howard) Johnson, Marilyn Westfall, and Jenny (Phil) Karst; a host of nieces, nephews, extended family members, and friends.
Bruce’s Life Celebration® visitation will be held at O’Riley Funeral Home, 6107 South East Street, Indianapolis, Indiana 46227 on Monday, December 6, 2021 from 4:00 to 8:00 PM. On Tuesday, December 7, 2021, additional visitation will be held prior to the celebration of Mass at Our Lady of the Greenwood from 10:00 to 11:00 AM. The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated by Father Todd Goodson on Tuesday, December 7, 2021 at 11:00 AM in Our Lady of the Greenwood Catholic Church. Following the celebration of Mass, Bruce will be laid to rest in West Newton Cemetery, West Newton, Indiana. At the conclusion of the committal service at the cemetery, all are welcome to attend a mercy meal at Our Lady of the Greenwood.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the college fund for both of his sons, Ryan and Nicholas; envelopes will be provided during the services, and checks may be made out to Susan Armstrong. O’Riley Funeral Home is serving the family. Please visit www.ORileyFuneralHome.com to leave an online condolence for the Armstrong family.
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Pibb, you were always a great friend and fraternity brother, thinking of others before yourself. Going all out in everything you did, never failing to cover all the angles. All of us are really going to miss you.
Bruce you were always more like a brother to me than my cousin. All of our great memories growing up have been flowing through my mind. I will miss you so much.
I remember when I first met Bruce (Pibb) at the University of Waterloo. We hit it off instantly. We shared some interests like the love of sports, especially baseball (Bruce is a Tigers fan, I am a Red Sox fan). We both enjoyed going to Toronto Blue Jays games. But more than anything he was fun to be around. Early on he told me that he had the nickname “Pibb” which he received I believe from his fraternity, as he liked to drink “Mr. Pibb”. So I called him “Pibb” from that day on. Many years after Waterloo, we both discovered and loved “Geocaching”. I have great memories of “caching” with Pibb in Indiana and also in England. I’ll never forget Pibb.
Susan, Ryan, and Nicholas, you are in our hearts. May God give you comfort and peace knowing Bruce is no longer suffering.
Bruce will be in our hearts forever. We send you thoughts of comfort. With love and hugs!
All of love goes out to you Susan, Ryan and Nick. Rich & Sue,Kyle Margaret &Liesl, Willie,Sarah Hannah & Lily, Rick
With heartfelt condolences,
So sorry to hear of Bruce passing. We rode the school bus together from middle school until high school. One day after a heavy snow our bus got stuck in the snow, Bruce tried to tell the driver to move his steering wheel so many degrees one way then so many degrees the other. Our driver was not following! Bruce finally drew a very detailed diagram. After he explained the diagram to the driver without using “big” words we got out of the drift. We were in 6th grade. Bruce was the smartest guy (or gal) I’ve ever known. I lost touch with him after he moved from the area. From reading his obituary it sounds as if he had a very happy and fulfilling life. Condolences to his family and all who loved him! Jan (MaRdis)McWhirter
Our thoughts and prayers are with you.
Pibb will be remembered for his positive, “can do” attitude. He was always up for an adventure, always willing to lend a hand and always to be depended on as a designated driver. Pibb will be greatly missed by all. Charlie Johnston Fraternity Brother
To the family of Mr. Bruce Armstrong, a man of great respect and enormous integrity, the Valle Vista Home Owners Association sends deepest condolences for your immense loss. – the Valle Vista HOA
Dear Bruce, I send you one final affectionate hug from Germany! I am awfully sad, that Bruce passed away and that I will never be able to meet him again in this world. I got to know him during my school exchange in the year of 2016. He was my host-father and together with his wife Susan and his sons he welcomed me into a warm, cozy and lovely home. Then in 2017 his son Nick visited us in Germany (Leipzig) and in 2018 I celebrated Nick´s High School graduation with the whole family and many friends in Greenwood. Bruce was a very pleasant and heartfelt man. I have enjoyed our conversations and the trips with him and the whole family very much. I will always cherish all these experiences and memories. I am very grateful, that I had the pleasure of getting to know Bruce and to be a part of his family and I am more than proud, that he was my host-father. I will never forget Bruce and I will always hold him and his family in my thoughts. Leon A. Bügelsack