Hervey Bay’s Rory and Crystal Armstrong were killed in a horror crash

A Hervey Bay husband and wife, killed in a horror crash in North Queensland, have been remembered as loved parents and community volunteers who would “give the shirts off their backs”.

A moving funeral has been held for a Hervey Bay couple, killed in a horror crash near Townsville earlier this month.

Rory, 67, and Crystal, 62, Armstrong died in a three-vehicle crash on the Bruce Highway in Wunjunga on August 12.

A funeral was held on Friday at Hervey Bay Baptist Church, with hundreds of people in attendance to honour the much-loved couple.

The “celebration of life” service was also livestreamed for those who couldn’t make it.

Much-loved Hervey Bay couple Rory and Crystal Armstrong were farewelled during a moving service on Friday.

During the service, those who attended were invited to pray together and songs were sung and Psalms read and the Mr and Mrs Armstrong remembered as people who volunteered in their community, were devoted to God and their beloved family.

Mrs Armstrong’s older sister Darlene thanked those gathered for the outpouring of love that had been shown to the family in the weeks since they had died.

Much-loved Hervey Bay couple Rory and Crystal Armstrong were farewelled during a moving service.

She remembered many good times, the laughs, the jokes and the puns.

“We are blessed to see the love of this church toward our family,” she said.

Their son also bravely spoke.

He described his parents as the kind of people who would “give you the shirt off their back”.

Much-loved Hervey Bay man Rory Armstrong was farewelled along with his wife Crystal in a moving service on Friday.

“My parents were always there to help people,” he said.

In his father’s final days, he had let another man take some of his belongings to sell so he could pay his rent.

His parents loved having adventures, their son recalled, remembering their first adventure, travelling to Las Vegas and visiting the Grand Canyon and Disneyland.

“Those adventures never stopped for my parents,” he said.

One comfort for the family, he told the crowd, was that the couple had gone together.

“I wanted to see them go together, because they wouldn’t be able to do without each other, that’s how close they were for 40 years.”

Much-loved Hervey Bay woman Crystal Armstrong was farewelled along with her husband Rory in a moving service on Friday.

Graeme Davies, Commadore of Hervey Bay Volunteer Marine Rescue, also paid tribute to the couple, as Mr Armstrong had volunteered with the organisation.

He had completed just under 500 hours on rescue vessels as a crewman, including rescues and evacuations, Mr Davies said.

Rory had aspired to become the skipper of a rescue vessel and had started studying and his loss was also a loss to VMR, Mr Davies said.

A montage of photos finished the service, showing the life of love and laughter the couple had shared together.

Originally published as Hervey Bay’s Rory and Crystal Armstrong were killed in a horror crash