William Stucker “Bill” Armstrong was born December 6, 1918 in Marion to William Armstrong, an English immigrant and Maggie Mae Willis. When Bill was only 1 year old, the 1920 census located his family living at 608 N. Highland Street in Marion with his 44 year old father, William, working as a coal miner. His 36 year old mother, Maggie had 3 children living in the home, Audrey 17, Iva 13 and William aged 1.
When the 1930 census was taken, the family was still living in their home on Highland Street in Marion and Bill’s father was still working as a coal mine loader. 11 year old Bill was the only child then listed in the household but his 73 year old, widowed, Grandmother Mary Willis was living with the family. They valued their home which they owned at $1,000.
Bill graduated from Marion Township High School in the Class of 1936 and was an active student participating in clubs and activities.
On September 3, 1939, Bill married Elisabeth Henrietta Feurer, daughter of Walter J. Feurer & Elisabeth Trentleman in Marion, Kentucky. Elisabeth was born in Marion on October 24, 1919. I suspect that this marriage may have been kept secret for a while since the 1940 census revealed that both Bill and Elisabeth were both still living with their families and both listed as single.
In the 1940 census, 20 year old Elisabeth was living with her parents at 505 S. Court Street and was working as a clerk in a retail grocery store. In the same census, 20 year old Bill was still living with his parents at 608 N. Highland Street. His father claimed to have worked 52 weeks out of the year in 1939 and had earned $600. Bill’s grandmother, 83 year old Mary Willis was still living with the family.
Whether the marriage was a secret or not was moot shortly after the 1940 census was taken because by the time Bill filled out his WWII draft record in October 1940, he and his wife were living at 534 20th Street in Washington, D.C. and Bill was working for the F.B.I. out of Washington. He was physically described as 5/ 9”, 160 lbs., with brown eyes, black hair and a sallow complexion.
In December of 1941, the couple gave birth to their one and only child William Anthony Armstrong who was born in a Carbondale, Illinois hospital, common for the time since Marion didn’t have a hospital then.
Bill enlisted in the U.S. Navy on September 25, 1944 and served until his discharge on June 24, 1946 attaining the rank of Ensign.
When the 1950 federal census was taken, Bill 31 and Elisabeth 30 were living in Marion at 1611 W. Maplewood St. Bill was working as a clerk for a small loan company working 48 hours a week. The couple had one son, William Anthony, aged 8.
In the 1955 Marion city elections, Bill was elected as city finance commissioner under first term Mayor Robert Cooksey. A term which he would serve until 1959.
A 1957 Marion street directory listed Bill as living at 1711. W. Maplewood and operating Bill Armstrong Insurance Agency at 1204 Public Square. By this time, his father had retired but was still living in their family home on Highland Street.
In 1958, Bill served as the Marion Rotary Club President from 1958-1959.
By 1961, Bill had started working as the business manager for Marion School District Unit #2 and was listed as living at 1711 W. Maplewood. By 1967, Bill and Elisabeth had moved to 800 Dogwood Lane.
A 1975 Marion directory revealed that Bill and Elisabeth had moved into their final home at 1908 W. Warren Street and Bill was still working for the Marion School District which he retired from in 1985.
William S. Armstrong passed away on February 4, 1987 in Marion Memorial Hospital. He was the school board secretary and former business manager for the Marion Community School District #2. He was a veteran of the WWII where he served in the Navy and a past city commissioner.
Armstrong was a member and elder of the First Christian Church of Marion, a member of the Marion Rotary Club and associate member of the Marino Hearts Helping Hearts.
He was survived by his wife, one son and daughter-in-law, attorney William A. and Mary L. Armstrong of Marion; three granddaughters, Lisa, Christy and Gay Armstrong all of Marion; and one sister Audrey Lockhart of Marion. One sister, Iva Stewart, preceded him in death. Burial was in Maplewood Cemetery.
His wife, Elisabeth, remarried to Bracy D. Smith on June 20, 1987 and she died at Heartland Regional Medical Center on January 9, 2009. Burial was in Maplewood Cemetery.
Notes on Children:
William Anthony “Tony” Armstrong, born at Carbondale hospital on December 5, 1941, became an attorney in Marion and partnered with J.C. Mitchell in the Mitchell-Armstrong law firm, later he entered the Armstrong –Green Law firm until he retired in 2002. He first married Mary Willis and later married Sharon Ann Fowler Boyd in 1994. He passed away in Munich, Germany on July 13, 2018, while traveling with his wife, Sharon. Burial was in Old Rose Hill Cemetery.
(Sources: Federal census records, WWII draft records, Marriage records, Marion Street directories. Marion Daily Republican, Marion Weekly Leader, First Christin church yearbooks. Compiled by Sam Lattuca on 8/7/2024)