Mount Ayr Record-News
Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa
Thursday, May 29, 2014

William J. (Bill) Armstrong, funeral director and owner of Watson-Armstrong Funeral Home in Mount Ayr, Clearfield and Diagonal, was installed as District 4 Governor of the Iowa Funeral Directors Association (IFDA) during the 134th Annual IFDA Convention held May 13-15 at the Iowa State Center and Gateway Hotel in Ames.

Armstrong was raised in Mechanicsville, graduating from Lincoln High School in Stanwood in 1981. He graduated from North Iowa Area Community College in mason City in 1983 and Dallas Institute of Mortuary Science in 1984.

Bill married Sandy Carson of Diagonal in 1986, and after living a short time in Norwalk, they moved to Mount Ayr in 1988 when he accepted a position as a funeral director. After LBanks Wilson's retirement, Bill became a partner in 2001 and the name was changed to Wilson-Watson & Armstrong Funeral Home. On January 1, 2009, the Armstrongs purchased the funeral home from Jay and Donna Watson and the name was changed to Watson-Armstrong Funeral Homes.

The Armstrongs are the parents of three children: Jacque (Bob) Sobotka, Jared (Chelsea) Armstrong and Josh Armstrong. They also have five grandchildren: Elizabeth, Andrew, Jacob, and Ronny Sobotka and Jase Armstrong.

Armstrong was elected by his peers to serve a three-year term in this capacity and was installed into office during the IFDA Presidential Banquet and Awards Ceremony on Tuesday, May 14. District governors must: 1) act as a liaison between members in the district and the Association leadership, 2) attend quarterly meetings of the Board of Governors to conduct Association business and determine policies, 3) hold annual meetings within the district and provide required funeral director continuing education and 4) serve on standing Association committees.

District 4 encompasses the counties of Pottawattamie, Cass, Adair, Madison, Mills, Montgomery, Adams, Union, Clarke, Fremont, Page, Taylor, Ringgold and Decatur.

This year's annual IFDA convention featured highly-regarded local and national funeral service speakers who presented current information on bereavement education, business and management practices, regulatory updates, technical skills and training and additional topics related to the funeral service profession. The Annual IFDA Convention provides funeral directors with a forum to receive and exchange information so they may return home with new ideas that will allow them to better serve the families in their communities.

Photograph courtesy of Mount Ayr Record-News

Transcription by Sharon R. Becker, June of 2014