Passed away in his home on September 24th, 2023. Doug is survived by his brothers Tom and Bill, and by his children Mary-Jo (John) Shugats, David (Julie) Armstrong, and Suzanne (Sam) Sibley, his 6 grandchildren (Joshua , Katherine, Graydon , Joseph , Megan and Cameron), and his 6 great grandchildren (Wyatt, Eliza, Braxton, Laura, Kyla and Darius). Doug is pre-deceased by his parents, Jack and Catherine, his brother Joe, and his twin brother Dave. Doug was the proud “grandparent” of “Georgie”, his main dog.
Doug grew up on a farm in the Irish Block (Owen Sound area), and at 18 he started his first job with the Bank of Montreal in a Hydroelectric camp in the Otter Rapids area of Northern Ontario. In 1967, he went to work for Miller Trailers in Mississauga for 12 years, where he learned the tradecraft of sales and the world of trailers. He soon launched out on his own and started Armstrong Trailers in 1980 in Richmond Hill. Eleven years later, in 1991, Doug moved the business to Barrie, where it has been for the past 32 years.
Known as a sharp businessman, Doug had a keen eye for a good deal, and quickly grew the business into one of Ontario’s premier mobile home and office trailer businesses. Today his son David, and his two grandsons run the business just off of Highway #400 and Innisfil Beach Road.
Doug had been a long-time member of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), and, surrounded by family and friends, he had proudly received his 20-year sobriety pin the day before he passed.
Funeral Mass will be held at St. John Vianney Catholic Church (13 Baldwin Lane, Barrie), on Friday, September 29th. Visitation will be at 10:30 a.m., with the mass starting at 11:30 a.m. Guests are invited to join the family for a light luncheon immediately following the service, and then Doug will be interred at Innisvale Cemetery (7551 5th Side Road, Innisfil, ON), following the reception (app. 2:30 p.m.).
The family requests that all donations be sent to the Salvation Army at www.salvationarmy.ca/donations
