After battling heart disease, colon cancer, and a stroke, Glen’s body gave up the fight on August 20th. His loving wife, Diane, was at his side when he took his last breath. They had been married 54 years, and she will miss him so much. Also grieving are his son, Geoff (Melissa) and grandsons, Elijah and Miles, and his daughter, Meghan Schmidt (Michael). His sister Norma (Randy) Wakelam and their children Christian, Karen, and Kevin will remember the fun times they had with him in Edmonton. His sisters-in-law Lynda Buske (Chris Taylor) and Nancy Kerr-Wilson (Andy) and their sons, Alan and Ross, share fond memories of their times with Glen. Cousin Alan Bardsley (Kitty) will cherish time spent with him at the cottage in Muskoka. His four grandnieces and two grandnephews will hear tales of Uncle Glen from their parents.
He was predeceased by his parents, James and Bessie Armstrong, Aunt Pearl Stevens and brother, Douglas Stuart Armstrong.
Glen was born in Ottawa, Ontario and proud of his Ottawa Valley roots. He graduated from Nepean High School then went to Carleton University where he met Diane. They married in second year, and both graduated with an Honours B.Sc. in Biology in 1974. Glen was a “born” scientist and wished to do research. He obtained his M.Sc. at Carleton then they moved to Edmonton so he could pursue his Ph.D. in Biochemistry at the University of Alberta, graduating in 1980. During this time, his son, Geoff, was born. After a 3-year Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Calgary, Glen returned to Edmonton as an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Medicine and his daughter, Meghan, was born. He became an Associate Professor in 1990 and a full Professor in 1997. In 2003, he was appointed Head of the Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at the University of Calgary, a position he held for 10 years. He retired in 2018 and was appointed Professor Emeritus of Microbiology, Immunology, and Infectious Diseases in 2019.
Glen was interested in studying the role of complex sugars in the pathogenic strategies of bacteria that cause food-borne gastrointestinal infections. He published 89 articles in the international, peer-reviewed scientific literature and was an inventor on 38 US and international patents. His trainees (15 grad students and 5 post-docs) have positions in academia and the health care industry in Canada, the US, and Mexico. In 2012, along with 4 of his colleagues, he received the Brockhouse Canada Prize from the Governor-General, the Right Honourable David Johnston, for Interdisciplinary Research in Science and Engineering.
Glen fell in love with Victoria in 2002 and decided to retire there. In 2019, he and Diane moved from Calgary and joined Uplands Probus as a way of meeting other retirees. Glen loved their special events, golfing, and investment clubs. He also became president of the strata corporation of his townhouse complex. He loved pub lunches, cruising, and walks on the beach!
In lieu of flowers, a donation made to Cancer Research in Glen’s honour would be appreciated.
A Celebration of Life will be held in the Sequoia Centre at McCall Gardens, 4665 Falaise Drive, Victoria, BC on Saturday, February 13th, 2027 at 2:00pm.
Condolences may be offered to the family below.
McCall Gardens
www.mccallgardens.com
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14 Responses
Very sorry to hear of Glen’s passing and very sorry for your family’s loss. Like so many others, I feel very fortunate to have many fond memories of his kindness, support, interest, collaboration and good humour. I am particularly grateful for his generous guidance and support of the early work that we did together with David Bundle and Monica Palcic during the early days of the Alberta Ingenuity Centre for Carbohydrate Science, as well as the following 15+ years of work together on many things. Although I am very sad to hear of Glen’s passing, it warms me to remember how he always had a special way to lighten the mood and to look on the bright side when things got a little too serious. I feel blessed to have the chance to learn so much from Glen as a great scientist and wonderful human being.
It is with great sadness that I learned of Glen’s passing. We share many common interests in science, including carbohydrate research and tackling infectious disease problems. Glen and I were colleagues in two Networks of Centres of Excellence Research consortiums, namely The Canadian Bacterial Diseases Network, and the Centres of Excellence for Carbohydrate Science. Glen will be sorely missed.
To the family: I’d like to extend my sincere condolences to Diane and the rest of Glen’s family.
Joe
my deepest sympathies to the entire Armstrong family. His greatest accomplishment was the strong family he built. Sending hugs to all.
dear Diane
I am so sorry to hear of your loss. Glen and I were scientific friends for over 20 years and we met at various meetings all over the world. I remember one particular occurrence in a hot tub at a Panorama meet. He was a very generous and collegial scientist.
You and your family have my deepest sympathy