Armstrong’s Legacy: Meet the Astronaut’s Children
Neil Armstrong is renowned as the first person to set foot on the moon. However, to his three children — Mark, Karen, and Rick — he was simply “Dad.”
Neil’s children were born during his 38-year marriage to Janet Shearon Armstrong, from 1956 to 1994, as detailed in his biography, *First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong*. In 1956, Neil and Janet experienced the loss of a child through a miscarriage. (Neil and Janet later divorced.)
Tragically, Neil’s daughter, Karen, passed away at the age of 2 from pneumonia, following six months of treatment for an inoperable brain tumor. This loss deeply affected the family, particularly Neil, who applied for astronaut selection shortly after her death.
“The death of his little girl caused him to invest those energies into something very positive and that’s when he started into the space program,” June said in *First Man*.
While watching a parent walk on the moon might seem extraordinary, to Neil’s sons, it was just part of his job, as Rick mentioned in a 2018 interview.
“I intellectually get it,” he said. “But internally I’m not sure I will ever get it. It’s sort of just my dad.”
Here’s a closer look at Neil Armstrong’s children, Rick, Mark, and Karen. Stay tuned for more updates from Eternal Pen!
## Eric Alan “Rick” Armstrong, 67
In 1979, Rick earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Wittenberg University and spent several years working as a marine mammal trainer, according to his bio on the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation’s website.
Around a decade later, in 1988, he joined his brother at a software development startup in Ohio, where he remained until 1994.
Currently, he works as a freelance software developer and consultant and resides in Ohio with his wife, Mary.
Rick has continued his father’s legacy through his involvement with the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, where he serves as a member of the board of directors. The foundation provides funding to students pursuing studies in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
In 2018, Rick and Mark initiated a series of auctions to sell their father’s belongings. By July 2019, they had sold merchandise worth $16.7 million, including Neil’s childhood teddy bear and a preschool report card he signed.
## Karen Anne Armstrong
Neil and Janet welcomed their only daughter, Karen Anne Armstrong, on April 13, 1959, in Lancaster, Calif.
Neil felt a special connection with his daughter, whom he affectionately called “Muffie,” according to his biography.
“How he loved Rick [his firstborn], but when Karen was born, he was just a different man,” June told his biographer.
On June 4, 1961, Karen experienced a fall at a park she frequented with her mother and brother. She had a nosebleed and a possible concussion, prompting Janet to take her to the doctor. Following tests, Karen was diagnosed with a glioma of the pons, a malignant tumor located within the middle part of her brain stem.
Doctors initiated X-ray treatment in an attempt to shrink the tumor, which resulted in Karen losing her balance. Initial radiation was followed by six weeks of outpatient treatment, during which she relearned how to crawl and eventually walk.
Throughout this time, Neil sought advice from various doctors, including his sister June’s husband, Dr. Jack Hoffman, who had a practice in Wisconsin.
“I’m the eternal optimist, but my husband told me, ‘No, she’ll be dead within 6 months,’ ” June said, according to the biography.
Karen passed away on Jan. 28, 1962, six months after her diagnosis and on her parents’ sixth wedding anniversary.
Neil maintained a composed demeanor during his daughter’s funeral, “though everyone knew he was suffering deeply,” Hansen wrote in Neil’s biography.
“People who knew Armstrong well indicated Neil never once brought up the subject of his daughter’s illness and death,” he wrote. “In fact, several of his closest working associates stated they did not know Neil ever had a daughter.”
## Mark Stephen Armstrong, 61
Neil and Janet welcomed their son Mark Stephen Armstrong on April 8, 1963, in Houston, Texas, as noted in Neil’s biography.
Although Mark was young when he witnessed his father walking on the moon, he still remembers the emotions he felt that day.
“It was exciting,” he said in a 2016 interview. “I was pretty sheltered from the dangers involved, so I didn’t really appreciate … all the things that could go wrong.”
Mark grew up alongside other astronaut families, who were their neighbors. He spent time with Pete Conrad’s family, enjoying cookouts and playing in the pool with their children. When he visited his father in post-flight quarantine, he did so alongside Buzz Aldrin’s family.
Mark graduated with a bachelor’s degree in physics from Stanford University in 1986. He then worked as a software writer consultant for Macintosh computers.
He went on to serve as the vice president of engineering at Pharos Technologies, Inc., followed by administrative and executive roles with Symantec Corporation, WebTV Networks, Microsoft, and Scenario Learning.
In 2012, Mark and Rick attended an astronaut reunion and gala at the Museum of Flight, which inspired Mark to join the museum’s board of trustees.
Mark is married to Cincinnati lawyer Wendy Armstrong, who represented Mark and Rick during an investigation into a wrongful death claim against a hospital, where Neil passed away at the age of 82 on Aug. 25, 2012, due to complications from cardiovascular procedures.
The hospital reached an out-of-court settlement for $6 million, which was distributed to Neil’s sons, sister, brother, and grandchildren.
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