Rebecca Armstrong

To view the service for Becky click HERE .

A larger-than-life figure in so many ways, it is with heavy hearts that we announce the sudden and unexpected passing of our wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, sister, and friend, Becky Armstrong, on 16 April 2024.

Born Rebecca Hale in Pocatello on 30 April 1965, Becky was the daughter of Lowell and Alice (Whiting) Hale and the fourth of their ten children. A true country girl, she grew up working on her family’s dairy farm in Tyhee and Moreland. She learned to read early and maintained both a love of agriculture and a love of words all her life.

After graduating from Snake River High School in 1983, Becky attended Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah for a year before transferring to play basketball at Utah State University for two years. At six-feet-six-inches tall, she was the tallest female athlete at the school and one of the tallest women in the United States.

It was while studying at Utah State that Becky met her first husband, Robert Cook. They were married and sealed in the Logan, Utah LDS Temple in July 1986 and were the parents of eight children together before their divorce in June 2004. With her family, Becky lived in several places in Utah and Idaho before resettling back in the Idaho Falls area in 2015. In 2018, she married Scott Armstrong and relocated to Ucon.

A prolific writer, Becky wrote freelance agricultural articles for more than thirty local, regional, and national publications, and was the author of several books, including four about Bigfoot. She was a well- known speaker at Bigfoot conventions in the Intermountain West and regarded as an authority both domestically and internationally.

Becky was a lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served in numerous different capacities throughout her life. Arguably her favorite calling was with the single adults of the church: she loved to attend dances and made many friends across the region as she traveled to and organized events near and far.

Being a mother was the most important thing in Becky’s life. Outside of her husband, Scott, her children and grandchildren were her greatest joys and most treasured associations. She was preceded in death by her mom, Alice, and her older siblings Cindy and Lane. She is survived by all of her children: Kaley (Ammon) Mailo of Lehi, Utah; Kasia (Jared) Flanagan of Rhome, Texas; Ethan (Nikki) Cook of Eagle Mountain, Utah; Shanae (Samuel) Hawthorn of Rexburg, Idaho; Rainy (Prince) Nwando of Eagle Mountain, Utah; Sarah (Alejandro) Reyes of Nampa, Idaho; Jorja Cook of Lehi, Utah, and Connor Cook of Idaho Falls, Idaho, as well as ten grandchildren. She is also survived by her father, Lowell (Cindy) Hale of Blackfoot, Idaho, and seven siblings: Kelly (Joan) Hale of Idaho Falls, Idaho; Lance (Monique) Hale of Eagle, Idaho;  Ronda (Lee) Fisher of Glenns Ferry, Idaho; Rex (Kari) Hale of St. George, Utah; Karen (Todd) Trumbull of Chubbuck, Idaho; Carlena Phillips of Scott’s Bluff, Nebraska, and Sandra Hale of Blackfoot, Idaho, as well as countless friends.

Her passing was sudden and is especially painful for her children and husband, who miss her more than they can say. They look forward to celebrating her life with a “Going Home” celebration this weekend at the Latter-day Saint chapel building in Milo, Idaho (12127 N 75 th E Idaho Falls). Those who would like to come celebrate her and send her off are welcome to join the family for a public viewing on Saturday at 2 pm, followed by her funeral at 3:30 pm.* Her burial in the Milo Cemetery will follow thereafter, at 5 pm. Those who wish to are then invited by the family to enjoy a dinner in her honor at the Milo Chapel. Attendees will have the opportunity to share stories and memories of her there.

In lieu of flowers, the family wishes to ask those who would like to to bring a balloon for the party instead—that would make Becky smile.

*Those who are unable to attend the funeral in person are invited to join virtually. Please contact a family member on Facebook for the link.