Barbara Edgar Armstrong Kessel

Published 7:53 pm Friday, September 23, 2016

Barbara Edgar Armstrong Kessel, of The Springmoor community in Raleigh, passed away peacefully on September 19, 2016. Barbara was born May 26, 1928 in Charleston, WV to Glenn and Bertha Edgar. She graduated from Randolph-Macon Women’s College, and later received a Master’s degree in Education from the University of Virginia. She was a lifelong educator.

In June of 1952, Barbara married Mark Armstrong and moved to Cincinnati to begin their life together. Raising two daughters, Barbara and Mark loved their time in Ohio, but eventually moved to Tazewell, VA where Mark helped found S.W. Virginia Community College. They quickly adjusted to life in the mountains and made many dear, lifelong friends. Barbara lost Mark in 1983, and being the adventurous person she was, left Tazewell and took a job teaching school in Germany on a U.S. Army base, where she relished travel and witnessed the fall of the Berlin wall. In fairy tale manner, her old college boyfriend, Dr. Mickey Kessel, tracked her down, came to Germany, courted and convinced her to return to the States and marry him. They lived in Huntington, WV until he retired from medicine. They then moved to Raleigh and Springmoor, where they were very happy, made new friends and used as a base to take many of their trips abroad.

Barbara is survived by her sister, Cary Louise Voress of Highland Beach, FL; daughters, Nancy Armstrong Murray and husband, Gray, of Washington, NC and Betsy Armstrong-Price and husband, Jeff, of Baltimore, MD; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

Barbara will be remembered for her love of anything to do with West Virginia, Randolph-Macon, the Girl Scouts, the Lutheran Church and her many friends. She was quick with a story and had an incredible gift of gab. She was known for her quirky sense of humor and encyclopedic grasp of trivial facts! She will be missed by all those whose lives she touched.

A memorial service will be held at Springmoor on October 15, 2016 at 1pm.

In lieu of flowers, Barbara suggested donations to The Springmoor Endowment Fund, 1500 Sawmill Rd., Raleigh, NC 27615.