Clara Jean (Conrad) Armstrong, 94, of Ponca, NE, passed away on Saturday, July 18, 2026, at Sanford Health Care Center in Vermillion, South Dakota. At Jean’s request, services will be privately held for the family.

Jean was born December 18, 1931, at her Lofgren grandparents’ farm home northeast of Newcastle, Nebraska, the daughter of Jack E. and Clara (Lofgren) Conrad. She attended rural schools through the eighth grade and graduated from Newcastle High School in 1949. She taught rural schools for three years, then worked in the office at the Lutheran Hospital in Sioux City for one year.

On June 2, 1953, she married Ross Armstrong at the Gospel Chapel church in Newcastle. They lived on the Armstrong family farm northwest of Ponca. In 1955 Ross was drafted into the Army. Jean and their son, Curtis, accompanied him to Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas that year, and then to Germany in 1956. They came home in 1957, returning to the farm. In 1997 they retired and moved to Ponca.

She enjoyed music, playing piano for church and the church choir, and especially accompanying male quartets over the years. She was a member of the Gospel Chapel church, active in their Sunday School and music ministries. Other interests included local history and genealogy.

Jean is survived by three children: Curtis and his wife Nancy Armstrong, Ponca; Roger Armstrong, Merrill, IA; Jeanette (Armstrong) Benson and her husband Dr. Eric Benson, Grand Island, NE; five grandchildren: Alan Armstrong, Ponca; Aaron Armstrong and his wife, Marcie, Vermillion, SD; Rachel Benson, Grand Island, NE; Dr. Levi and Jaime Benson, Santa Rosa Beach, FL; Hannah Benson, Denver, CO; one brother, Jack C. Conrad, Lincoln, NE, and her sister-in-law, Beverly (Dickey) Conrad, Yankton, SD. She is preceded in death by her parents, her husband Ross in 2005, one brother, Darrel Conrad in 2011, and her sister, Andrea J. Conrad in 2016.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the Gospel Chapel, 707 Annie St., Newcastle, NE 68757