April 30, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 70 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Page S2510]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                      TRIBUTE TO WILLIAM ARMSTRONG

 Ms. ERNST. Madam President, today I wish to honor Mr. William 
``Bill'' Armstrong of Mount Ayr, IA. Bill is a lifelong Iowan and 
outgoing president of the Iowa Funeral Directors Association.
  Bill Armstrong has served as one of the most effective advocates for 
both Iowa morticians and morticians across the country for almost 40 
years. He graduated from Dallas Institute of Mortuary Science in 1984 
and soon after moved to his current hometown of Mount Ayr, where he 
accepted a position as a funeral director at Wilson-Watson Funeral 
Home. His journey was only just beginning.
  In remarkably short order, he achieved partnership at the funeral 
home and ultimately acquired the business from Jay and Donna Watson in 
2009, officially making the funeral home, Armstrong Funeral Homes.
  This prompted Bill to become an outspoken leader for current and 
future funeral professionals. He proudly represented morticians on both 
the local and national level by pioneering annual trips to both Des 
Moines and to Washington, DC, in order to raise awareness about the 
profession.
  Bill was always forward looking, with a singular objective of 
training the next generation of funeral home leaders. He worked with 
the University of Northern Iowa to establish a 4-year degree program 
for mortuary studies.
  These are all amazing accomplishments, and I want to thank Bill again 
for his service and for helping Iowans through their most difficult 
life moments. I wish him success in his new endeavors.

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