Edward Charles Archer

Cherished Family, Faith, And Country

Edward C. Archer, 65, died with his family at his side after a one-year battle with mesothelioma, in his home in Newtown on June 13. Born in Brookfield on December 19, 1940, he was the only son of Percy and Ida Archer.

Orphaned at an early age, he was raised in Bethel by his aunt and uncle, Marie and Charles Meyers, and their four daughters, Jeanne Banks, Marian Meyers, Eleanor Hunt, and Evelyn Meyers. He attended Immanuel Lutheran Grammar School and graduated from Bethel High School in the class of 1958.

He received a congressional appointment to the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., and graduated in June of 1962 as a member of the 20th Company. Following his career at Annapolis he was assigned to the USS Witek out of Groton. He served during the Cuban Missile Crisis and completed one tour in Vietnam in the Commander Destroyer Division 202. He was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal with Combat “V” and was honorably discharged with the rank of Lieutenant in May 1967.

Mr Archer then began his career at IBM in Hartford as a marketing representative. After holding a number of management positions during his 27-year career at IBM, he retired in August 1994 as vice president, Healthcare and Insurance Industries, ISSC. In June of 1989, he graduated from the Yale Executive Management Program School of Organization and Management. He was a longstanding member of the American Management Association and a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors where he was a Corporate Governance Faculty member.

In 1994 he joined Pearl Meyer and Partners, Inc, an executive compensation consulting firm in New York City as managing director where he remained until his illness prohibited him from continuing his work.

He cared deeply about all people, his family, his faith, and his country. Always active in the church, he was a weekly reader during mass, frequent church volunteer, and was elected head of the Parish Advisory Council at St Mary’s in Ridgefield. He was a founding member of the Emmaus community in Ridgefield, which is a religious retreat serving hundreds of teens in the community. He took great pride in his contribution to St Patrick’s Cathedral, New York City, while serving as lector for Cardinal John O’Connor during the televised mass. He was most recently a devoted member and lector for the Church of St Mary in Bethel. He took very seriously his role as a mentor to high school students in New York City.

His deepest love was for his wife of 42 years, Maureen Reynolds Archer, a friend and companion from the age of 9. He is further survived by his adoring daughters and their husbands, Jennifer and Kenneth Papa of Madison, and Suzanne and David Croke of Simsbury; and seven grandchildren, Matthew, Brendhan, and Bridget Kolf, and Olivia Papa of Madison, and Charles, Carolyn and Edward Croke of Simsbury.

Calling hours will be from 3 to 7 pm, Sunday, June 18, at Bethel Funeral Home, 215 Greenwood Avenue, Bethel. A celebration mass will be held on Monday, June 19, at 11 am, at the Church of St Mary, Bethel, with burial at St Mary’s Cemetery with military honors.

Memorials may be made to Regional Hospice of Western Connecticut, Inc, 405 Main Street, Danbury CT 06810.

The Newtown Bee        June 16, 2006