South Lorain banner program looks to memorialize lives lost to violence

LORAIN — Lila Armstrong met her husband, John, on the last day of eighth grade at Lorain's Whittier Middle School. She laughs thinking about it now, figuring he was probably skipping school from nearby Southview High School when he offered to carry her clarinet and walk her home. "He's had a rough life but he was a super great father," Lila Armstrong said. "To me, that was the most important thing and he and my son had a great relationship. My son looked up to his dad and (John) always kept it honest with my son and told him 'This is not it. Your dad doesn't know no better, I'm messed up.' He would tell him and my son sees it, and he's such a smart 14-year-old." The pair was married 16 years. John Armstrong had been out of jail for about a year, with plans to join Lila and their son, John "Jaer" Armstrong III, in Vegas. He'd pushed them to move there, Lila Armstrong said, to start Jaer's boxing career there. Jaer, now training at Pound 4 Pound gym in Las Vegas, has his sights set on competing in the Olympics or going pro, she said. "My husband was getting his coach's license, he was going to be able to corner his son for the first time and see him fight so we were super excited about it," Lila Armstrong said. "It was a big deal and then on May 3 my son's father was shot and killed in Lorain." John Armstrong, 43, was found dead in an apartment at Bruce Towers after police were called to the complex. The incident remains under investigation. After that, Lila Armstrong said she thought about giving up. "He wouldn't have wanted to give up," she said. "He was not a person that gave up for nothing in this world. When he wanted something, he got it -- anything he wanted to do, he did it. I know just how excited he was that he wouldn't want me to not do it. He would be very upset and hurt if he knew that we didn't continue this on. ... I just have this fire under me that this has to go right. This has to be perfect, and I know he would be so happy watching the fights from wherever he's at up above." At 1p.m. Aug. 28, the East Coast vs. West Coast Gloves Not Guns Showdown amateur boxing tournament will continue on as scheduled, but it will be the culmination of a month of honoring lives lost to violence in the city. The event is a partnership with South Lorain's Legacy Boxing Club and Pound 4 Pound in Las Vegas. To help offset costs for security and other items needed for the tournament, Lila Armstrong coordinated with Councilman Rey Carrion, D-6th Ward, to sell banners with the names and faces of those who have died from violence in the city. "I just want to honor him and honor everybody out there that has lost their lives and their families and just pay respects to the families. I can honestly tell them I know what you're going through," she said. Those banners, $100 each, will surround Oakwood Park where the tournament will take place. Those purchasing the memorial banners will get to keep them at the end of the month, she said. Spots are still open for East Coast fighters interested in participating, she said. They must be registered with USA Boxing. Twenty belts were sponsored by small, family businesses for winners, she said, and a $200 cash prize will be given for fighter of the night. They are also looking for food trucks for the event, she said. For more information, or to purchase a memorial banner, text Lila Armstrong at (727) 687-5273 or on Facebook. The deadline to purchase a banner is July 15. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.