Obituary of Caroline Armstrong

Caroline Munro Armstrong (nee Sutherland), 84, passed away peacefully with loved ones at her side on October 13 2024, under the compassionate care of the staff at St. Patrick’s Home in Ottawa.

Caroline was born on July 9, 1940 to Charles and Caroline Sutherland, in Kilbirnie, Ayrshire, Scotland, and was an older sister to Margaret.  She attended Glengarnock Elementary School and Dalry High School, later attending the University of Glasgow to study Chemistry, earning a Bachelor of Science in 1962 and becoming the first in her family to achieve a university degree.  

Caroline worked as a Clinical Biochemist for the Glasgow Royal Infirmary for three years before marrying fellow chemistry student John (Ian) Armstrong of Glasgow, in 1965. In their first year of married life, Caroline and Ian lived in London England, where Caroline worked as an Editorial Assistant for the Chemical Society. Caroline and Ian then pursued new adventures, emigrating to Canada in 1966. First making their home in Oakville where they welcomed their eldest child Robert, Ian’s job then took the small family to Winnipeg Manitoba, where son Andrew and daughter Catriona were born.

In 1976 they left their home and friends in “Winterpeg” when a new job for Ian brought the young Armstrong family to Ottawa. Despite the demands of parenting three young children, Caroline was an active volunteer in the neighborhood, contributing her time to her children’s schools, and Britannia United Church where she sang in the choir and led fundraising initiatives. As her children grew older, Caroline re-entered the paid workforce and contributed her many skills and talents to increasingly challenging positions with Revenue Canada, the Canadian General Standards Board, and the Standards Council of Canada. During this timeCaroline and Ian enjoyed world travel including frequent trips back home to Scotland to visit family and friends, especially her beloved sister Margaret, brother-in-law Graham, and cousin Margaret.

Upon retirement in 2000, Caroline and Ian designed and built their dream home on the shores of East Lake in Cherry Valley, Prince Edward County, Ontario. Sharing their time between “Cheery Cherry Valley” and New Port Richey in Florida, Caroline and Ian enjoyed their well-deserved retirement years with family and friends. Caroline now had the time to embrace travel, writing, book clubs (many, many book clubs), nature walks, Scottish country dancing, her writer’s club, and tutoring students learning English as a second language…which were, incredibly, just a few of her varied pursuits. Having been a writer of prose and poetry all her life, Caroline achieved a cherished dream when she published her novel, “Hotel of Mists and Moods”, a description of her summer working as a waitress at a resort hotel in Scotland.

Caroline’s personality shone with a bright light. She loved her family and friends, found beauty all around her, and enjoyed simple pleasures. She had a kind word for everyone (well, except those who had earned a tart dose of Scottish sarcasm!), a mischievous sense of humour, a sharp intellect, a wise head and a loving heart. Caroline was both a scientist, and a lover of the arts. She was a loving wife, mother and sister; a doting grandmother; and a caring friend and neighbour. She was a reader, a writer, and a poet. A family friend once exclaimed, “Is there no end to her talents?”  And the answer is no… not really. Caroline could refinish an antique bureau, knit a sweater, tend a garden, whip up a local community event, write a short story, host a party (preferably with a little Pinot Grigio), or lead a team of scientific specialists  on a technical audit, each as easily and capably as the next.

Following a long illness that diminished, but did not define her, Caroline is survived by husband Ian; children Robert, Andrew (Lara), and Catriona; and grandchildren Alex, Charlie and Jamie. We are grateful for all the time we had with our beloved Caroline, Mum, and Nana, and will cherish our memories of her always. To paraphrase her adored poet Robert Burns, “if there’s another world, she lives in bliss; if there is none, she made the best of this.” 

For those unable to attend in person, you are welcome to attend virtually via this LINK

Given Caroline’s lifetime love of books and reading, donations may be made in her memory to the Friends of the Ottawa Public Library Association.