David A. Armour

David A. Armour Grove City, Pennsylvania Historian, Author, and former Administrator for the Mackinac Island State Park Commission, succumbed to cancer April 28, 2010 at the age of 72. He was the son of Arthur and Marian Bowie Armour of Grove City and attended school there. He received a bachelor's degree from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1959, and his master's and doctorate degrees in history from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois. He taught at the University of Wisconsin for four years before serving 36 years as Deputy Director for Mackinac State Historic Parks under the Mackinac Island State Park Commission in Michigan. During this time, he restored or reconstructed over 40 Historic buildings, authored seven books, wrote over 60 articles, did numerous book reviews, and obtained and administered over $7,000,000 in grants. Following his retirement, the visitor center at Historic Mill Creek State Park was named in his honor. He received numerous professional honors, including the President's Award for Distinguished Service to Museums from the Michigan Museum Association given to him upon his retirement, and consulted on numerous restoration projects. Dr. Armour also taught Colonial American History at Calvin College and Grove City College. He had a love for the Hmong Christian Ministry at Grand Ledge, Lansing. On Mackinac Island, he worked with college students and Jamaican workers in their worship services. He was an elder at River Terrace Church in East Lansing and later at Covenant CRC in Grand Ledge. He served on the vestry at Trinity Episcopal Church on Mackinac Island. The Armours moved back to Grove City in 2004 where he taught at Grove City College, taught History to homeschooled neighborhood children, and English to foreign exchange students. Surviving are his wife of 50 years, Grace, and four children and their families, Marian Armour-Gemmen and Randall Gemmen and their children, Angelyn and Ellena, of Morgantown, West Virginia; Arthur Armour and Rebecca Lew and their children, Samuel and John, of Portland, Oregon; David Armour and Joanna Tong and their children, David, Keith, and Michael, of Bellevue, Washington; Anneke and Matthew Myers of Mackinac Island. His family also includes two sisters and a brother, Nancy and Doug Johnson of Davidsonville, Maryland, Tom and Lois Armour of Grove City, Maryann and Al Fearon of Bolivar, Ohio, his in-laws, Alice and Bill Heese of Akron, Ohio, Ed (deceased) and Jan Lootsma of Mystic, Connecticut, Els (deceased) and Gys Kooy of Mahwah, New Jersey, Henry and Grace Lootsma of North Haledon, New Jersey, the late Wayne Lootsma, Ann and John Barr of Bridgewater, Virginia, and many nieces and nephews. Visitation will be at the family home, 432 West Washington Boulevard, Grove City, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday, May 2, with a memorial service Monday, May 3, at 5:30 p.m. at Covenant Orthodox Presbyterian Church. A memorial service also will be held Wednesday, May 5, at 4 p.m. River Terrace Church in East Lansing, Michigan. A memorial service and interment will be on Mackinac Island later this spring. Memorial contributions may be made to Covenant Orthodox Presbyterian Church (for outreach), 140 East Poplar Street, Grove City, PA 16127; Hmong Christian Ministry, 3400 Wainwright Avenue, Lansing, MI 48911, or Mackinac Associates (for Mill Creek), P. O. Box 567, Mackinaw City, MI 49701. Arrangements are made by Cunningham Funeral Home, Grove City.