Traverse City -- Harry W. Armstrong battled alcoholism for most of his life, but that didn't stop him from helping others.
Passersby found Armstrong, 59, dead on the beach of West Grand Traverse Bay on May 10. The homeless Vietnam veteran spent much of his time at the Goodwill Inn shelter in Garfield Township, and staffers there remember his "wry sense of humor" and compassion.
"He cared about other people," Inn manager Lois Lannin said. "And he was usually there for other people."
Autopsy results are pending in Armstrong's death, but foul play isn't suspected.
Armstrong will be honored at 10:30 a.m. today with a service at the Goodwill Inn, located at 2943 Keystone Road. Representatives from the VFW are expected to attend, and Goodwill staffers will eulogize Armstrong.
"It will be very informal," Lannin said. "Harry would hate it if it were anything different."
Informal or not, Goodwill officials wanted to do something in Armstrong's honor.
"I want the family to know how many people in the community cared about him," Lannin said. "He was an important person. And on a personal level, I cared a lot about Harry."
Stacey Allen, Armstrong's daughter, will read a eulogy in honor of her father. She said severe alcoholism and post-traumatic stress disorder "came back with him" after his discharge from the United States Marine Corps in 1971, but the Goodwill Inn gave him much comfort.
"I'm very blessed that the Goodwill Inn has been in my father's life," she said. "They are his family."
Armstrong spent four summers working for the City of Traverse City. He helped with operations on "The Spirit of Traverse City," the miniature train at the former zoo near the Open Space.
Lauren Vaughn, Traverse City's parks and recreation superintendent, said Armstrong loved the work.
"He had a really fun sense of humor and kept people in a good mood down there," Vaughn said. "He took a lot of pride in getting the train ready to operate ... he enjoyed it a lot, and it was fun having him down there."
Steve Morse, a member of the Goodwill Industries board of directors, said he hopes the service will serve to draw attention to the problem of post-traumatic stress disorder in veterans.
"Here is a good example of a person that did fall through the cracks and winds up alone on a beach," he said.
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