Cuvator Harvey Armstrong

Cuvator Harvey Armstrong, known by family and friends as “Q”, was born in Rankin County, MS on August 28, 1944, to Richard and Ogaretta Harvey.  She graduated from life on earth to eternity in heaven and earned her crown. 

During her early years, Cuvator attended Amite County Training School (3rd – 8th grades; Gloster, MS), which gave her an opportunity, as she recently described it, to be “spoiled” by her Grandma Alice.  It was also during these times that Cuvator developed her work ethic and dedication helping others.  She returned to Jackson, MS and attended Lanier High School, where she furthered her extracurricular interests in tennis and playing clarinet in the marching band.

Cuvator enrolled in Touglaoo College (Tougaloo, MS) and earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics.  While there, she continued to excel in community service activities and was initiated into Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated (AKA) in 1964.  She also met her loving husband, Henry L. Armstrong, while there.  In 1966, they united in holy matrimony and attended graduate school at Southern Illinois University – Carbondale (IL), where Cuvator earned a M.S. In Higher Education.  After graduation, they moved to Huntsville (AL) and she worked in the area of Student Affairs at Alabama A&M University.  It was during this time that the happy couple welcomed three bundles of joy---Arcelia, Jason, and Paula.

Cuvator’s professional interests changed after relocating to Gaithersburg (MD) in 1979 and she became a real estate professional.  For nearly 40 years, she worked with one of her cherished best friends, Silvia Soria Rodriguez, at Silva International Realty, since its founding in 1990.  For decades, Cuvator dedicated her life to community and charitable service, advancing equity in education, housing, and civil rights.  She leaves behind an indelible imprint on the community, through the natural warmth, kindness, sense of humor, compassion for mankind, mentoring and mothering, and advocacy that extended beyond socioeconomic and demographic borders.  Her efforts have been recognized by the NAACP Montgomery County chapter, Habitat for Humanity – Metro Maryland, Montgomery County Inter-Agency Fair Housing Committee, the Greater Capital Area Women’s Council of REALTORS, and many others.  In 2023, she was honored by the NAACP Montgomery County with the Branch Committee Award, for her long-standing efforts in championing fair housing practices. 

Cuvator was a charter member of Xi Sigma Omega Chapter of AKA, Inc. Upper Montgomery County, Maryland.  She held several elected positions in the chapter, actively participated at local, state, regional and national events sponsored by the sorority, and became a celebrated Golden Soror of AKA after completing 50 years of sustained and active membership.  In 2022, she celebrated two following generations becoming members of AKA---legacies include her daughter, Arcelia, and granddaughter, Victoria.

Cuvator loved family, reading, intellectual discourse, building community and helping others realize their potential….always with her “all hands on deck” call to duty.  She carried this into her love and dedication to spiritual growth and maturity, as a faithful member of St. Jude AME Church (Germantown, MD), where she served on the Steward Board and the Women’s Missionary Society.  In 2018, Cuvator was honored as a Missionary of the Year by the Washington Conference Branch.

Cuvator was preceded in death by her parents, Richard Harvey and Ogaretta Roberts Harvey; and a sister, Richardstene Harvey.  She leaves to cherish her memories a devoted husband of 58 years, Henry; two daughters – Arcelia (Toledo, OH) and Paula (Houston, TX); one son – Jason (Gaithersburg, MD); 2 grandchildren – Victoria  (West Palm Beach, FL) and Nuurah  (Honolulu, HI), and grand dog Ava; special cousins—Oliver W. Thompson, Eric M. Roberts, and Patricia Mosely (Pearl, MS), Dr. Gerald L. R. Weatherspoon (Glenn Dale, MD); Beverly Stepter and Belinda Hamilton (Baton Rouge, LA), brother and sister in laws George and Yvonne Armstrong (Indianola, MS), Vert Armstrong (deceased), Hattie Armstrong (Greenville, MS), Sammie and Ollie Armstrong (Greenville, MS), Johnnie and (Dorothy- deceased) Dallas, TX, Jimmy and Barbara Armstrong (White Plains, NY), Sammie and Ollie Armstrong (Greenville, MS),; and many other family members, sorority sisters, and friends. The family expresses our deepest gratitude to Dr. Carolyn Coleman, Carolyn Henderson and Peggy Meade and a host of other friends.

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