Liane Rene Armstrong O'Donnell

Liane Rene Armstrong O'Donnell cultivated a life of relationship, curiosity, persistence, and deep love of her Savior.

She was born in 1958 in Pasadena, California to Emir Jeannette Houtkooper of North Dakota and RADM William Alvin Armstrong, USNR, Ret. of Missouri. The youngest of 5 children, she navigated her family as the peacemaker, solution finder, and ballast, characteristics she brought forward into the rest of her life. She attended The Agnes Irwin School in Rosemont, Pennsylvania and, while she took great delight in her all-female education, it was the fashion-ease of the uniform that she spoke of in glowing terms for decades after graduation in 1976.

After a semester of exploration, Liane joined the class of 1980 at the College of William and Mary. She did college well - breaking hearts, surprising everyone by majoring in economics, logging hundreds of miles running the Duke of Gloucester Street, and proudly cracking the sandwich sauce secret at The Cheese Shop.

Graduation brought her to a summer of working in the kitchens at Young Life's Camp Saranac in New York where she met her husband to be in 1981. Liane swept Brian off his feet and the pair were married the next summer in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. They moved to Chicago, where Liane completed a degree in Physical Therapy and Brian studied medicine and joined the Army's medical corps. Liane gave birth to their first baby, Katherine Delaney, at their first duty station in El Paso, Texas in 1987. The following assignment, Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks, Alaska, clarified for Liane that sunshine and warmth deserved their place among the fruits of the spirit. Liane gave birth to their second baby, Chelsea Armstrong, at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in 1989 while living in Maryland. After a few happy years near her parents in Pennsylvania, Liane and Brian were reassigned to Tacoma, Washington. Liane loved the early springs there, in one of which, Liane gave birth to her third baby, Connor John.

After separating from the Army, Liane and Brian moved to Freeport, Maine to raise their young brood in salt air and open space. In Maine, they brought home their fourth baby, Fabio Eamon. Liane dedicated herself to her children's education and well-being, from flash cards to music lessons to homemade bread and jam. In raising her children and pursuing their best, Liane was utterly tenacious. Witnessing them find places of belonging - Katie's affinity for the violin, Chelsea's love of her girl's summer camp, Fabio's intellectual drive, and Connor's penchant for the daring - brought Liane incredible delight.

As her kids began to graduate from high school, Liane decided to match her professional skills in physical therapy with her passion for helping people navigate to freedom. She became certified in Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy and began working part time at a clinic in Portland while continuing her volunteer work at crisis pregnancy centers in southern Maine. She dedicated herself to her new vocation with intention and discipline, leaving her patients with no doubt of her skill and commitment to their wellbeing.

People and relationships were deeply important to Liane, and she dedicated many thousands of hours travelling to be with those whom she loved, all across the country. She cultivated relationships with nieces and nephews, pursued friendships in every place she lived, and continued to invest in the lives of those she encountered no matter how far their paths took them from each other.

Though each of her children were far away at college, in the Army, at the Naval Academy and beyond, Liane ordered books on parenting adult children, and continued to weave her heart into her kids. No distance was too far or circumstance too challenging when it came to loving her children with intention, wisdom, and utter tenacity.

Brian and Liane considered where they would like to live next after their posting in Freeport, Maine and decided to make their cabin on Great Wass Island their summer roost and spend their winters in California near Liane's dear sister, Alisa.

Soon after the plan was put into action, Chelsea ruined it by giving birth to Brian and Liane's first grandchild while stationed with the Navy in San Diego, California. The excited grandparents moved their winter nest to Southern California to nanny their little blue-eyed angel, Whitaker, and live near Chelsea and her husband, Cameron.

True to her nature, Liane dug into her new home with energy and heart, mentoring young mothers, training her mind and her body, and laughing at Brian's hilarious stories. She became a strong advocate for medical freedom and early treatment of COVID-19, continuing her lifelong vocation of supporting those journeying toward growth and healing.

Liane loved how, as she would say, she "could take Brian anywhere," and, once again, she and Brian became an excellent team, this time as grandparents. Lulu was the name that Liane's father gave her as a little girl, which she resurrected as her name for her new season of grandmotherhood. It fit her perfectly - spirited, cute, and full of meaning. Lulu, Opa, and Whitaker were a team - music class, beaches, parks, and libraries rang out with their voices, delighted in each other. During a particularly intense time of separation anxiety for little Whit, Lulu became the children's teacher for a local Bible Study Fellowship so that she could stay with Whitaker throughout the class. She filled him with nutrient dense foods, taught him how to give nose kisses, sang him scripture songs, and was rewarded with many sticky hugs and having her name said right after mama and dada. We will spend our lives wishing that Lulu could have given this love to each of her grand babies, but we are so grateful to be able to picture with what grace, wisdom, and intention she would have done it.

There were gifts during their years in San Diego beyond grand-parenthood as well. A special joy for Liane during their three years in San Diego was seeing her son, Connor, with some regularity, as he departed for and returned from underways and a deployment on the USS Nimitz as a growler pilot out of Whidbey Island. Liane was infinitely proud of her son, Fabio, and especially enjoyed their collusive conversations over the past few politically turbulent years and watching in amazement as he undertook new adventures in extreme mountaineering. She loved being on the same coast as Katie, sharing sweet spots of time together snuggling with dogs, making decadent lattes, and dreaming up interior design projects. Liane loved sharing a kitchen and a brewing interest in fermentation with Cameron. She delighted in adding another beloved son to her brood in Eric and a cherished new daughter, Sydney. And, in the wee sacred hours after birth this past March, she was the first person to hold and kiss her baby granddaughter and namesake, Lillian Armstrong.

Through all storms, in all constancy, and in all change, Liane knew the saving Grace of her Savior, Jesus Christ.

In the morning hours of the Fourth of July, Liane went home to be with the Lord unexpectedly.

She leaves behind her beloved husband of 40 years, Brian; her daughter Katie and her husband Eric Borgh; her daughter Chelsea and her husband Cameron Foose and their children Whitaker and Lillian; her son Fabio; her son Connor and his wife Sydney; her four siblings Alisa, Lesli, Marc, and Lyn; her two siblings-in-law David and Lynne; her two dozen nieces and nephews; and many, many dearly loved friends.