James Clyde Armstrong

James Clyde Armstrong, known as Jim, passed away peacefully on 15 March, 2026 at

his home on Dornell Road, Ipswich, MA.

Jim was the oldest child of Herbert and Margaret Armstrong. He was born in 1936,

and was raised in Stonington, Connecticut. As a young man, he graduated from

Harvard in 1958, after a tour with the US Army. He then travelled to South Africa,

where he learned Afrikaans and made lifelong friendships, developing an

intellectual passion for the Cape which would come to define his professional and

personal life.

Back in the US in the early 1960s, he met Helen Means, who shared his interest in

living and working in Africa. They married, joined the Peace Corps, and moved back

to Kenya, working together as teachers in Kaimosi, Kenya.

After their Peace Corps service, Jim and Helen returned to the US, where 3 of their 4

children were born. He pursued a degree in African Studies and then worked as a

librarian at Harvard. In 1977, Jim was offered the role which became his career,

becoming the Field Director of the Library of Congress in Nairobi, Kenya from 1977-

90; and subsequently in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Islamabad, Pakistan; and Jakarta,

Indonesia from 1992 through 2005, when he retired.

His marriage to Helen ended in 1990. In 1992, he married Therese Van der Spuy,

who joined him in Brazil, Pakistan, Indonesia, and finally Ipswich, where they came

to rest after a life of globetrotting. He lived in Dornell Road for the next 20 years.

The tight knit community of Ipswich was invaluable to him through Therese's

passing in 2017, and thereafter during the pandemic, when Jim was reliant on the

kindness of his neighbors who went above and beyond to keep an eye out for him.

The tireless efforts of Tammy Hanson above all were vitally important to Jim in the

last years of his life.

Jim was a prolific writer, publishing in the academic press from 1965 through 2025.

Words from his writings on the slave trade in the Cape are included in the

permanent exhibits at the Slave Lodge National Museum, in Cape Town. As befits a

librarian, his personal collection of books and other printed material filled his

house, estimated by him at 18,000 volumes. Largely self-taught, he could read many

languages, and delighted in deep dives into arcane subject matter. He had a ready

wit, and a kindness and curiosity which allowed him to take people as they were.

The world and all it contains was a source of boundless interest to him, and as long

as he had a book near him, he was never bored.

Jim was predeceased by his eldest daughter Lina, wife Therese Van der Spuy and

stepson Rex Van der Spuy. He is survived by his sons, Jannie and Conrad; daughter,

Elizabeth; his daughters-in-law Susan Southern, Stacey Dakai and Vendula

Armstrong; his grandchildren, Nathaniel, Ella, Alex, Jacob, Kurt and Bruno; his

stepdaughter Kirstie Van Der Spuy, and her children, Mats and Soren Dykstra.

Anyone wishing to honor Jim's memory is encouraged to consider a donation to the

Ipswich Public Library. Link below