In Memoriam: Michael Armstrong '63
Michael Armstrong ‘63, died in Brooklyn, N.Y., of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. He was 79. His wife, Dnynia, died of the same disease a month earlier.
Armstong was the former publisher of The Villager and Brooklyn Phoenix and a well-known figure in those neighborhoods. Armstrong grew up in Galion, Ohio, before attending Pacific University, where he majored in political science, and met his first wife. After his graduation, he received his masters degree at Boston University, then went to New York City where he took a job in public relations. Not long after, Armstrong started the Brooklyn Phoenix and owned it through the early 1990s. Also, in 1977, Armstrong took over The Villager, Greenwich Village's weekly newspaper, owning it until 1992. In 1981, Armstrong married Dnynia Bauman, who was working at the Phoenix on the advertising and business side. They would spend the rest of their lives together.
At the Villager, Armstrong expanded the arts section. He launched the Village Theater Awards for Off-Broadway and experimental theater. Armstrong's newspapers often won awards, such as Best Coverage of the Arts in the New York Press Association's annual Better Newspaper Contest.
When Dnynia fell to the virus, Armstrong visited her constantly, bringing her food and spending the day with her. After he could no longer visit for health reasons, he visited with her during her transports outside the nursing home several times a week. Armstrong got to see his wife the day before she went into the hospital. He was afraid to go get tested himself for the disease, because he knew if he went into the hospital he wouldn't come out. During his time in the hospital, Armstrong's daughter, Arija Noel, would FaceTime him and read to him, take him on virtual train trips and play him classical music.
Armstrong is survived by his daughter, as well as Dnynia's son, Adam Bauman, and daughter, Aisha Ricca, along with six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
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The family provided the following account of his life.
Michael Allan Armstrong '63 was born Nov. 17, 1940 in Galion, Ohio to Maj. William and Mabel Armstrong, the oldest of three children. His family moved many times as his father, a U.S. Army officer, was stationed in the District of Columbia, Hodgenville, Ky., Anchorage, Alaska, and Vancouver, Wash.
He attended Pacific University, majoring in journalism and political science. While at Pacific, he was tapped to join Blue Key, an upper class honorary organization. With Blue Key, he helped to edit a pamphlet about the history of Boxer.
He was the sports editor for The News Times, The Oregonian and The Columbian Newspapers. In his senior year, he served in the Army National Guard and he worked for the University as assistant public relations director. After graduation, he and his new bride, Anita Lee Taylor '63, moved to Boston where he attended Boston University and received a masters degree in public relations. The next year he moved to New York and joined the Public Relations firm Ruder & Finn. In 1970, he left Ruder & Finn to run a congressional campaign and later ran as a candidate for New York Assembly.
Afterward he decided to start The Phoenix, a weekly publication in Brooklyn to help give a voice to the local neighborhoods. In the 1980s, he also published the weekly newspaper The Villager in Greenwich Village. For a short time he published The River Valley Chronicle, a monthly newspaper in Hudson, N.Y. The newspapers were involved in many neighborhood activities and won many local, regional, and state awards. His many projects included the Made in Brooklyn campaign and a business paper, Brooklyn, Inc.
After leaving journalism, he used his public relations talents while working for Brooklyn Borough President Howard Golden for nearly 10 years. When Golden retired, Armstrong went on to direct events and media for Brooklyn Independence Savings Bank and its foundation; N.Y., Assemblywoman Adele Cohen (Coney Island), and focused on N.Y. Assemblywoman Marge Markey's (Queens) Child Victims Act among other issues while working for her office. He began Armstrong & Associates, his own consulting firm. While working with other local historians in the "Brooklyn Renaissance Project" and his latest "Roots of Modern Brooklyn", he used his vast archives from his newspaper days to shine light on the growth of the city through the years.
He died on May 4, 2020 from complications from the COVID-19 virus. His second wife, Dnynia, died April 4, 2020 also from COVID-19. Hi survivors include his daughter, Arija Noel, his stepson, Aram Bauman, stepdaughter, Aisha Ricca, his brother Steve Armstrong and sister Jan Strickland as well as six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.