Stephen Terrance "Terry" Armstrong

Steve, or Terry as he was known to many, was born November 3, 1955, in Shreveport , Louisiana. He attended elementary school in Wichita, Kansas, Junior High and one year of High School in Amarillo, Texas, graduating from Oklahoma City’s Putnam City High School in 1973. As a youth, Terry was a typical All-American Boy. He was a solid student, a Boy Scout, earned spending money delivering the local newspaper, regularly attended church, and on occasion would mastermind and carry out elaborate pranks on his friends. Terry easily mastered the piano, and earned a coveted position as first trombonist in the high school marching band. During high school, he developed a lifelong interest in college football, enjoying nothing more than watching games with his father. One of Terry’s most memorable experiences came at the age of 16; he somehow managed to achieve the impossible, obtaining tickets and attending the 1971 “College Game of the Century,” which pitted his beloved Oklahoma Sooners against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Following high school, Terry fulfilled his dream of attending the University of Oklahoma where he was an honor student in the College of Business; he was awarded a Bachelor of Accountancy degree in 1977.

Terry began his professional career in the Accounting Division of Phillips Petroleum, where he was employed as an internal auditor at corporate headquarters, in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Living and working in a small company town proved not to his liking, and he soon set his sights on moving to “The Big Apple.” Terry was goal oriented and tenacious in achieving his goals. After several years of meticulous planning, and with no personal or professional connections awaiting him, he boldly embarked on a cross country drive to New York, chasing his dream. Within days after arrival, he had found an apartment, and a job. In New York, Terry worked as a marketing executive at a global research and marketing firm in the business district, near the World Trade Center. He was both affable and honest, attributes that set him apart and enabled him to excel in the highly competitive business world. His professional talents were recognized when his company, Frost and Sullivan, honored Terry as Account Executive of the Year for 1994.

Terry had a remarkable memory, which played to his three lifelong passions—Oklahoma Sooner football, the music of Bob Dylan, and New York City. His knowledge of football scores and statistics, arcane song lyrics, and obscure historical trivia was unmatched and any attempt to argue with Terry on these subjects was doomed, because he was invariably correct.

Terry was preceded in death by his sister, Kathy Bertram, and brother-in-law Gregg Bertram. He is survived by his parents, Cleston and Orpal Armstrong of Oklahoma City, brother and sister-in-law Lee and Kathy Armstrong of Austin, Texas, niece and husband Erin and Jason Hatcher of Frisco, Texas, nephew and wife Dr. Clay and Brooke Armstrong of Nanaimo, British Columbia, nephew and wife Alex and Yada Bertram of Midwest City, OK, niece and husband Margaret and Brandon Howe of Oklahoma City, and dear friend and longtime companion Patricia Kaplan of New York City.

The family would like to extend special thanks to his doctors, whom Terry also considered friends: Dr. Jacob Levitt and Dr. B. Robert Meyer of New York City.

Terry leaves a legacy as a kind, selfless, genuine, and completely unique individual. He was a beloved son, brother, uncle, and friend. We bid him farewell with these words:

May God lift you up on eagle’s wings

Bear you down on the breath of dawn

Make you to shine like the sun

And hold you in the palms of his hands.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the American Cancer Society, PO Box 22718, Oklahoma City, OK 73123, or the National Psoriasis Foundation, 6600 SW 92nd Ave, Ste 300, Portland, OR 97223.

The family will receive friends from 5 to 8 pm on Friday, February 12, 2010 at Guardian West Funeral Home, 5820 NW 41st Street. Services will be at Guardian Funeral Homes West Chapel on Saturday, February 13, at 10 am.