Obituary of Andrew Thurman Armstrong II

Dr. Andrew T Armstrong died March 7, 2024 in Arlington, Texas with family and his cherished wife of almost 66 years by his side. Born May 26, 1935 in Haslet, Texas to Ila Pool Kitchen and Andrew Thurman Armstrong, Andrew was the youngest of five children: Eleanor, Drew, Marian, Ann, and Andrew.

Andrew grew up on his Family’s Farm in Keller, Texas and graduated Keller High School in 1953, and received both his Bachelors and Masters degrees from North Texas State University (now University of North Texas), Denton in 1958 and 1959.  Andrew met Kay Masters while attending North Texas State University and they married May 31, 1958.

Andrew and his new bride moved to Canyon, Texas in 1959 where he held his first teaching position at West Texas State University and in late 1959 welcomed his first born, Michael Andrew.

Andrew and his young family relocated to Baton Rouge, Louisiana where he received his PhD in Physical Chemistry from Louisiana State University in 1967. While going to graduate school and holding a teaching position at LSU, their second child, Marion Kay, born January 1963.

In 1966, Andrew once again relocated his growing family to Los Angeles for a post graduate study at -University of California – Los Angeles then back to Baton Rouge for a teaching position at LSU. In 1968, Andrew accepted a teaching position at the University of Texas at Arlington and moved his family one last time to Arlington, Texas where, in late 1969, the third and last child was born, Benjamin Neil.

By 1975 he and Kay were analyzing fire debris samples for the Arlington Fire Department Arson Investigative Unit. Kay would receive the samples, set up the extraction process and complete the analysis while Andrew was teaching young adults the finer points of covalent bonds. When home in the evenings, Andrew would interpret the data from that day’s tests and sign any reports. The name of their fledgling business was Armstrong Consultants, later renamed, Armstrong Forensic Laboratory.  Dr. Armstrong wrote one of the first papers on the recovery of ignitable liquids from fire debris in 1978. 

While LSU and UT-Arlington each were influential periods of Andrew’s life and career, it has been North Texas State University that has held his heart. It was North Texas State where he found his heart, Kay Frances. Since the day they met until the day he had to leave, Andrew never swayed from his love and commitment to Kay, his children, his family, and as the business grew, his employees. Every day he went to the Lab was a joy for him. Andrew never failed to tell anyone who would listen that he had never worked a day in his life – because he loved what he was doing so much.

In his almost 50 years building an internationally recognized consulting analytical lab, Andrew received many personal and professional achievements. He is one of only two individuals to ever receive the Arlington, Texas Fire Department’s highest civilian honor - White Helmet Award, 1977, Honorary Fire Chief, Houston, Texas, 1992, Outstanding Alumni of the Year for Excellence in Chemistry, University of North Texas, Denton, 2002 and Texas Family Business of the Year – Small Family Business, presented by the Baylor University, The Institute for Family Business, Waco, Texas, 2008 and the Sisyphus Award from the ASTM International Forensic Science Committee Career Achievement, are among his most cherished.

The business began in 1977 with ten case files being completed and ended the 2023 year with over 20,000 case files. Andrew has testified in court more often than most lawyers have presented cases to a jury.

Andrew is survived by his wife, Kay; his children, Michael, Marion (Don), Ben (Rainey); his six grandchildren, Austen (Melissa), Alex (Emily), Michael, Ian, Kaytlin, and Robyn; three bonus grandchildren, Liam, Asher, and Izzy; and four great grandchildren, Rory, Maya, Charles, and Abigail.

Visitation will begin at 12:00 p.m. with Funeral Service at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 12, 2024 at Thompson’s Harveson and Cole, 4350 River Oaks Blvd., Fort Worth, Texas.  Interment will follow in the Crowley Cemetery, Crowley, Texas. 

Andrew had only three rules for Life: Tell the Truth; Facts are Facts; and I Don’t Know is a Good Answer.