Contributed byAndrea Shelly
Genevieve Patricia Armstrong passed away peacefully, surrounded by her loving family, at her home in Wasilla, Alaska, on June 26, 2026, at the age of 103. She was laid to rest at Palmer Pioneer Cemetery in Palmer.
Born Genevieve Stocklose on a farm in New Carlisle, Indiana, on August 18, 1922, she was the youngest of five children born to Frank and Sophia Stocklose, Polish immigrants who arrived through Ellis Island. Known as “Jenny” or “Jean,” she grew up in a hard-working family that tended livestock and 150 acres of hayfields while her father worked as a carpenter. In 1929, the family moved to Evergreen Park, Illinois, where Genevieve spent much of her childhood and teenage years during the Great Depression and the years leading into World War II. Those experiences helped shape the resilience, optimism, generosity and adventurous spirit that defined her life.
Jean loved baseball and became a star fast-pitch pitcher for a Chicago women’s softball team, eventually receiving an invitation to join a professional women’s league. Instead, wanting to contribute to the war effort and hoping to become a transport pilot, she worked various jobs and took flight lessons. Her training was interrupted as instructors were called into military service.
She later traveled alone by train to San Francisco, where she worked for the Troop Movement Division at Fort Mason and qualified for top-secret clearance involving troop movements throughout the U.S. and Pacific. After the war, Jean worked in the psychiatric ward at Pratt Army Hospital in Coral Gables, Florida, comforting soldiers suffering from the psychological and emotional wounds of war.
Her love of aviation continued when she became a part-time stewardess for Peninsular Airways, flying aboard C-47 aircraft throughout the southeastern U.S. and Caribbean. She later returned to Chicago and worked for Eastern Airlines at Midway Field.
There she met Tom Armstrong, a flight steward, and married him in 1949. The couple eventually settled in California and began raising a family. In 1959, they moved with their children to Naples, Italy, where Jean embraced life along the Mediterranean. She treasured the warmth of the Italian people, music, long meals with family and friends, and weekends exploring Sorrento and Capri. Those years shaped her lifelong sense of hospitality: guests were always welcome, conversations were never rushed and no one left her table hungry.
One of Jean’s most treasured spiritual experiences was a pilgrimage to San Giovanni Rotondo, where she was blessed by Padre Pio, later canonized in 2002. The family returned to the U.S. aboard the Italian ocean liner Leonardo da Vinciin 1962.
After her marriage ended, Jean found herself in upstate New York with five young children and very little money. Determined to begin again, she packed the children into a U-Haul and drove back to Chicago. She eventually became a travel agent, then built a successful business that grew to five travel agencies throughout the Chicago area.
Her career allowed her to travel extensively, including trips to China, Africa, Europe and numerous islands. Eventually she sold her businesses and continued her adventures through California, Oregon and Washington before settling in Alaska.
Talkeetna captured her heart. She loved its artists, musicians, climbers, bush pilots and colorful personalities. Ever the entrepreneur, she opened Flying Ace Gifts on Main Street and sold flightseeing tours for legendary mountain pilot Doug Geeting.
At age 80, Jean flew aboard her daughter Andrea’s passenger DC-3S between Anchorage and Barrow to attend the annual whaling festival, an experience she often described as one of the most authentic and memorable travels of her life. She also transformed her daughter Andrea’s cabin on the Talkeetna Village Airstrip into Talkeetna Landings Bed and Breakfast, welcoming visitors and climbers.
Her annual backyard birthday celebrations became beloved gatherings filled with family, neighbors and local musicians. Jean remained active well into her later years, traveling throughout Alaska and Hawaii until age 99, writing, painting, contributing artwork to KTNA Art Auctions, and enjoying conversations with longtime Alaskans and curious travelers.
Jean is survived by her five children, Gale, Scott, Laura, Jeff and Andrea, along with seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Anyone who knew Jean understood that her greatest gift was not simply what she accomplished, but the way she made people feel. There was always food and something sweet on the table, coffee brewing, laughter and room for one more guest. She listened deeply, laughed freely and made people feel at home. Her life reminds us that the greatest legacy we leave is measured by the love we share.
The family extends its deepest gratitude to Dr. John Boston, DO, for his many years of compassionate care, and to the nurses and staff of Ancora Home Health Care. Special gratitude goes to Hospice Nurse Esther Pepper, whose gentle presence, wisdom and guidance during Jean’s final days brought immeasurable comfort to Jean and her family.
