Douglas Dean Armentrout

Douglas Dean Armentrout, 58, of Woodinville, Washington, passed away on January 22, 2023.

Doug was a neck-bowed Hawkeye if ever there was one.  He was devoted to his home state and believed devoutly in the mystical power of the 100-mile radius of his birth.  He would often list his Iowa hall of fame: Johnny Carson, John Wayne, Cloris Leachman, Donna Reed, Andy Williams… He was a religious Hawkeye football fan and being married to him meant a giving up every Saturday from late August to mid-December or convert.

He was born in Atlantic, Iowa on May 13 or 14th — depending on who you ask — to Betty Jane (nee Randall) and Wilbur Aaron Armentrout.  He lived his life prior to meeting his wife, Paige, thinking he was born on May 13, 1964.  But upon scrutinizing his birth certificate, Paige pointed out that he was actually born on the 14th; a fact his mother vehemently denied.  Paige and Doug were married on October 18, 1997 by Buckner Fanning at Trinity Baptist Church in San Antonio.

Doug’s maternal grandfather was a circus and vaudeville performer who was as colorful and outlandish as that sounds.  Doug loved the uncommon and unorthodox aspects of his family history.

He graduated from Anita High School in 1982 and attended Northwestern College of Iowa in Orange City where he lived with his brother, Dwight.  He briefly began graduate school in acting at LSU in Baton Rouge before leaving the program for reasons that are a bit elusive, but then, he was always cagey.  During that time, he worked at theaters in Florida, Mississippi, Utah, Los Angeles and Louisiana.  Doug moved to Los Angeles to pursue his acting career before deciding to enroll in the Professional Actor Training Program at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, where he earned his MFA (1995) and met Paige.  Doug and Paige lived in Cleveland and worked at the Cleveland Play House before moving to Manhattan in 1995, where they lived in Hell’s Kitchen.

Doug worked for the City of New York, Department of Cultural Affairs and oversaw operations and donations for Materials for the Arts, of which he was extremely proud.  Materials for the Arts was a reduce/reuse initiative by the city which recycled fabric, paper, building materials, etc. donated by corporations.  In turn, non-profit arts organizations and the NY Department of Education could freely ‘shop’ for goods.

Emery Blackburn Armentrout was born at St. Luke’s/Roosevelt in 1999.  Doug and Paige settled in Woodinville, Washington in 2000, where Wilbur Whitman Armentrout was born in 2003. Doug was a stay-at-home dad for the first year of Wilbur’s life, allowing Paige to go back to work.  Turns out, he was much better at the stay-at-home thing than Paige.  He worked for AT&T until 2003, and went to work for Sequoyah Electric in 2004, in Network Services (Division 54).  He loved his work at Sequoyah and he was committed to a premier level of care for his clients. He had a team of professionals who he held in the highest esteem.  Doug participated in leadership programs at Sequoyah, which he then led as a trainer for others in the company.  He truly cared for his co-workers and partners and sought to continually affirm how much he valued their talent and dedication.

Wilbur graduated from Dolan Learning Center in 2022 and is a program assistant at Woodinville Montessori School.

Emery graduated from Woodinville Montessori School. He attended Trinity University in San Antonio, earning degrees in English Literature and Chinese.  He is currently pursuing a master’s degree at Middlebury Institute of International Studies (Monterey, CA) in International Trade and Economic Development, China.

Doug (aka Dougie Fresh) was a lover of the American theater, The Lawrence Welk Show, Paul Newman, a good cigar, and Rock ‘n Roll; particularly Van Halen. He was a generous steward of institutions he respected; namely, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Classical Theatre of Harlem, Woodinville Montessori School, and Trinity University.  He believed money is like manure: it’s no good unless you spread it around.

Doug was predeceased by Wilbur Aaron, Betty Jane, Dwight William and David Vernon Armentrout; his father-in-law, Wayne Thompson, and a sister-in-law, Sheri Barnett.  He is survived by his wife of 25 years, Paige Thompson Armentrout and their children, Emery and Wilbur; his mother-in-law, Patsy Thompson and brother-in-law Chad Thompson (Jeni), of San Antonio; his brother-in-law, Scott Schmidt of Palm Springs, CA; nephews Erick Armentrout (Amber) of Woodinville, Tyler Armentrout (Eva) of Tacoma and his adorable great-niece and nephews, Iris Marie, Oliver Dean and Oskar Roy Armentrout. In Iowa, his sister-in-law, Marsha Armentrout, niece Sara Armentrout, nephew Desmond Armentrout.

A memorial service will be held March 20, 2023 in Seattle at SIFF Uptown Cinema. Please consider a donation to Seattle Repertory Theatre or Classical Theatre of Harlem in his honor.