Robert Neil DeArmond was born in Sitka in 1911, to Robert W. DeArmond and Elizabeth Davidson. A street in Sitka is named for them.

After high school graduation in 1930, he worked in a salmon cannery, then as a reporter for Strollers Weekly in Juneau. When the owner of the paper became the reporter, DeArmond lost his job and in the summer of 1931, made a rowboat trip from Sitka to Tacoma. Later he wrote a book about the trip, "A Voyage in a Dory." From Tacoma he went to the University of Oregon.

After a year of college he returned to Sitka and worked in the fishing industry. In 1935, he married Dale Burlison, and they had a son, William and a daughter, Jane. In the fall of 1938 DeArmond helped to build a cold storage plant at Lisianski Inlet, Chichagof Island, and helped found the town of Pelican. There, DeArmond was storekeeper, bookkeeper and postmaster.

The DeArmonds remained at Pelican until the end of 1944 then moved to Ketchikan where he became a reporter on the Alaska Fishing News (later known as the Ketchikan Daily News). From 1946 until 1953 he traveled back and forth to Juneau covering the biennial sessions of the Alaska Territorial Legislature for the Daily News, the Juneau Empire and several other papers. In 1949, he became a partner in the Sitka Printing Company.

In 1953 DeArmond became administrative assistant and press secretary to B. Frank Heintzleman, Governor of Alaska appointed by President Dwight Eisenhower. Mrs. DeArmond worked for several state agencies then became librarian at the Juneau Memorial Library, a position she held for 29 years. She also became well-known as a printmaker, particularly wood cuts and wood engravings.

Between 1957 and 1973 DeArmond worked part time as a researcher at the Alaska Historical Library in Juneau. In 1958 with Robert A. Henning he founded Alaska Northwest Publishing Co. and purchased The Alaska Sportsman (now Alaska Magazine), which he edited for some years. He also edited Alaska Journal, published by the same firm.

DeArmond was twice elected to the Sitka City Council. He was a member of the Ketchikan Igloo of the Pioneers of Alaska and in 1957 became Grand President of the organization. He served on the board of directors of the Alaska Historical Society and as a member of the Alaska Historical Commission.

The DeArmonds moved from Juneau back to Sitka and into the Pioneers’ Home there in 1991 where he continued to write.

Robert DeArmond passed away in Sitka November 26, 2010.