Obituaries

It is with great sadness that we announce the peaceful passing of Luanna Luxton Armstrong, age 83, of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. She died on August 23, 2026, at Ball Hospice House. She was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, on June 24, 1943, to Arthur and Celestine Luxton.

Luanna attended Loretto Catholic High School in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, then went to Toronto, Ontario, to attend Ryerson University for Interior Decorating. She started her family and helped support them by sharing a talent she had been developing since the age of three, teaching dance in the basement of her home in Dundas, Ontario.

As her family grew, she continued teaching dance from the basement of her home in Bolton, Ontario. Eventually, an old barn was converted into a dance studio and theater, which became known as Simpson Place.

She ran her Luanna Luxton School of Dance and Performing Arts there for almost twenty years. They also hosted a Rotary Summer Theater Festival, and an annual natural health and metaphysical festival called The Festival of Light.

Luanna returned to her roots in the late 1990s and married her high school sweetheart, Greg Armstrong. They made their home on Sugar Island.

She led a community dance program at Lake Superior State University for several years before opening the Academy of Performing Arts, with studios at the Big Bear and annual shows at the Kewadin Theatre in Sault Ste. Marie.

Luanna became an integral part of the Sault Community, lending her talents and enthusiasm to the annual Madrigal and the Chamber of Commerce.

She was blessed to have been able to make a career from her passion for dance and theater and to have had the opportunity to be part of the lives of so many wonderful students and others who helped her bring her shows to life each year.

She brought magic into all our lives and will be greatly missed.

Luanna is survived by her husband, Greg Armstrong; daughter, Samantha (Warren) Richmond; son, Adam Simpson; grandchildren, Olivia Richmond, Evan Richmond, Kyla Imre, and Jameson Kelly; sister, Maryellen (Ed) Poluck; and brother, Joe (Rachel) Luxton.

Luanna was preceded in death by her parents; Arthur and Celestine Luxton; and sister, Juanita Joliquer.

Visitation will be held Thursday, September 3, 2026, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 Noon, at the Holy Name of Mary Pro-Cathedral Catholic Church, 337 Maple St., Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan 49783. The Mass of Christian Burial will follow at 12:00 Noon.

Luanna’s final resting place will be at Riverside Cemetery in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.

Memorial Contributions can be made in Luanna’s memory to Hospice of the EUP, 308 W. 12th Ave. Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783.

Family Life Funeral Homes – Sault Ste. Marie assisted the family with arrangements. Condolences may be given to the family at www.familylifefh.com.