Neil Armstrong with his daughter “Muffie”, 1959-1962
“When Karen was born, he was just a different man… [Her death] was a terrible time. I thought his heart would break. Somehow he felt responsible for her death, not in a physical way, but in terms of ‘Is there some gene in my body that made the difference?’ When he can’t control something, that’s when you see the real person. I thought his heart would break.” -Jane Hoffman, Neil’s sister
“Karen was a precious thing. She developed a tumor in her brain, and we couldn’t save her.” -Janet Armstrong
“The death of Karen really hurt him. It was the only time that I had ever seen him really, really hurt. Couldn’t talk about it.” -Dean Armstrong, Neil’s brother
“I remember Neil bringing Karen over without saying anything, just a visit on a Saturday. They wanted to see our new baby. So I got her out of the bassinet and put her on the bed, and Neil carried Karen over so she could touch her and kind of hold her. Karen was a valiant little girl… I felt that Neil came to me because he wanted somehow to encourage Karen to hold on to a hope, just a wild hope, like parents do. You could see that he loved his little girl very deeply.” -Grace Walker, wife of pilot Joe Walker and Armstrong family friend
