Obituary of Richard Arthur Armstrong
Wrapped in love by his family, Richard (Rick) Arthur Cameron Armstrong passed away at home on Sunday, July 1st, with his wife Amanda and sons Logan and Wyatt close by. A husband, father, son, brother, friend, entrepreneur, artist, poet and mix tape master, Rick was a visionary who had the ability to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary. Rick will be deeply missed by his siblings Kate and Jo-Ann Armstrong, Kris Biglieri, Gary Osterude, brothers in law Al Magee and Larry Zaidlin and sister in law Melanie McCaig as well as his cherished mother in law Eva Magee.
Rick was born on December 23, 1954 in Toronto to parents Arthur and Joan, new to Canada from England. In his teens he attended Upper Canada College as a boarding student where his art teacher told him that school wouldn’t be his thing. Industrious by nature, he created his career from scratch, often finding value and beauty in objects that people typically pass by. His innovative designs left an imprint on the Toronto landscape and created precedence for aesthetics and design integrity in Toronto’s urban spaces. From his 20s through to his 60s, he designed furniture, commercial spaces, transit shelters and homes that all carried an elevated sense of design sensibilities that center on calm, elegant, dignified forms and carefully selected materials that speak to a sense of place. His artistic flair and passion was even more purely expressed in his pleasure projects such as a campaign to ‘Save the Don’ that he chaired with Jack Layton, projecting an image of a Peace Dove on New City Hall for Toronto’s Sesquicentennial, and Circle Ball Fair, a performance and art festival in Bloor Yorkville that he organized in the early 90s.
Rick would say his greatest accomplishment was having a hand in raising sons Wyatt and Logan. He leaves them a legacy of honor, loyalty, creativity and love for nature. Amanda was the love of his life for 40 years; he told her so every day. He loved the rock and pine of Algonquin Park, the mountains and salt air of Jamaica and the red rock canyons of Arizona. He saw the world with clarity and noticed the beauty in everything.
The family would like to thank their Doula, Sandra Brunner, the Doctors and Staff of Sunnybrook Hospital and the Spectrum Health team for their compassion and commitment. If you would like to join the family in a Celebration of Rick’s life please email karmstrong@kateconnect.ca for details. Donations in Rick’s name can be made to The Temmy Latner Centre for Palliative Care via his memorial webpage at www.ecofuneral.ca
