Funeral services for ‘guiding force’ Ed Armstrong planned for end of month

Funeral services for Clearwater icon Ed Armstrong have been scheduled for Sept. 26 at 11 a.m. at First United Methodist Church^[1], located at 411 Turner St. in Clearwater.

A private internment will follow. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions be provided in Armstrong’s name to the LifeLink Foundation^[2].

A full obituary will appear in the Tampa Bay Times on Sunday.

Armstrong, a prominent local lawyer who was the founding shareholder of the Clearwater office of Hill Ward Henderson^[3], passed away Aug. 29. He was 68 years old.

Armstrong served more than 40 years as a lawyer, representing clients ranging from the Tampa Bay Rays to the Church of Scientology. He joined Hill Ward Henderson in 2013, after serving as a shareholder with Johnson, Pope, Bokor, Ruppel & Burns for 27 years.

His public service didn’t go unnoticed. Former Gov. Rick Scott appointed him to the Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board in 2014, where he served until 2019 and was reappointed in 2020 by Gov. Ron DeSantis. He also served as a Trustee for the BayCare Health System for 15 years.

In 2018 he was named one of Florida’s 500 most influential business leaders by Florida Trend magazine and he was named Mr. Clearwater in 2014 by the Clearwater Regional Chamber of Commerce, now AMPLIFY Clearwater.

And it’s his service to Clearwater that perhaps best defines his legacy, including work on deals in Clearwater Beach leading to the demolition of the Clearwater Beach Hotel in 2005 and the later construction of the Sandpearl Resort.

Armstrong had been battling polycystic kidney disease, which required two kidney transplants, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

He is survived by his wife, Tara, and their daughter, Lexa.

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