Funeral services for Gary Nelson Armstrong, 83, of Utica, Mississippi will be held at 11:00 AM on Saturday, July 3, 2021 at Hartman-Hughes Funeral Home with Mac Conerly and Randy Conerly officiating. Burial will be in the Tylertown Cemetery II.

Mr. Armstrong passed away at the V.A. Hospital in Jackson, Mississippi on Monday, June 28, 2021. He was born March 19, 1938 in Hazlehurst, Mississippi to the late Lozella and Charlie Armstrong. Along with his parents he is also preceded in death by his son Jay Keith Barnidge.

Nelson attended Hazlehurst High School. After graduation he proudly served his country in the U.S Navy from 1957 -1961 and Navy Reserve from 1961 – 1965.  He participated in Operation Hardtack; The Atomic & Nuclear Weapons Device Test Series at the Eniwetok Atoll' Bikini Atoll Proving Grounds, Marshall and Johnston Islands in 1958. Nelson also participated in the Seventh Fleet Operations off Quemoy and Matsu Islands and in the Taiwan Straits Crisis of 1959 off the coast of China. When his time with the Navy came to an end, he began driving 18-wheelers from 1966 until his retirement in 2019. In 1970 he married the love of his life and "special angel" Sue Armstrong. The love that he expressed for her over the last 51 year is everlasting.  In his later years spoiling his grandchildren and great grandchildren was his most treasured pastime. Mr. Armstrong love for his family will be missed.

Survivors include his wife Sue Armstrong; children Brian Ray Barnidge, Kevin Dale (Sharon) Barnidge, Sr, Joann Barnidge, and Charles Lamkin Armstrong; 7 grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; brothers Robert Earl Armstrong and Charlie Fred Armstrong, Jr; along with a host of nieces, nephews, friends, and loving family.

Visitation will be at Hartman-Hughes Funeral Home on Saturday, July 3, 2021 from 10:00 AM until service at 11:00 AM.

Pallbearers are Tommy Wetterich, Kevin Barnidge, Dalton Nelson, Shane Barnidge, Jace Laird, and Clay Lowery.