Angie Armstrong

When Angie Armstrong’s mother was in the last few days of her life and worried that she wouldn’t be able to rest next to her previously departed husband due to the grave yard being closed, Angie knew what she had to do.

For generations, the Fort Detrick Safety Office employee’s family used the Brunswick cemetery, and when the site was closed due to the caretaker’s age and inability to keep it up, Angie stepped up with a plan of action.

She helped organize citizens to form the Park Heights Cemetery, Inc., which took over the maintenance and ownership that saved the cemetery.

For some people, an act such as this would be the highlight of their civic giving, but for Armstrong it was just one out of decades of charitable service.

‘‘You can’t just sit around and complain,” said Armstrong about how she handled the cemetery situation. ‘‘That’s not my personality. I put that energy into doing something ... to make a difference.”

She has been an active member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles, an international charity organization nearly her entire life.

For 20 years she’s been a member, spending at least one night a week contributing either by raising money, running the weekly bingo game or any other way she can. Before she was eligible for membership, she helped with her family’s involvement.

The commitment to her community and civic responsibility was instilled in her at a young age from her mother, who was also an active member in the Eagles. They are the only mother-daughter Alta Browning Smith Women of the Year award winners, the highest honor the FOE can bestow on their female volunteers.

She said her strongest contributions to the organization are in fundraising since people say she has an ability to ‘‘sell a drowning man a glass of water.”

‘‘Being able to give the money made to a local family or even to the national level to help with research makes me feel good,” she said.

By applying the values she was taught and the knowledge that she can make a difference, she has brought peace of mind not only to her mother, but to her community as well.