Granderson Lee Archer III

Archie was born on October 17, 1944, in Buffalo Springs, Virginia, to the late Granderson “Joe” and
Ruth Archer. He was the youngest of two siblings raised in Richmond, Virginia. In his late teens,
Archie relocated to Yonkers, New York. While in Yonkers, as a young adult, he was drafted into the
Army. During his service with the Army, he met and married Sonja Hines. After a short stay in
Yonkers, they relocated to Maryland where they raised one daughter and three sons.
In his younger years, Archie had a passion for racing motorcycles, working on cars, fishing and
crabbing. He also loved spending time with his family, especially on their 30+ mile (round trip) bike
rides from Gravelly Point Park to Mount Vernon and on vacations in Ocean City.
While in the Army working on aircrafts, Archer discovered he was a phenomenal mechanic. That was
when he realized he could fix just about anything. And, if he couldn’t immediately fix it, he loved the
challenge of figuring out how it worked so he could fix it. He could spend hours working on cars. It
was his love for mechanics that led him to a distinguished 30+ year career as a service technician
with the Washington Gas Light Company.
Archie was very likable and funny and he loved to talk and laugh. He never ran out of stories to tell,
even if he was telling the same story over and over again.  He laughed a lot and his laugh was
infectious. Family and friends could not be around him when he was laughing and not laugh too.
Archie also had an entrepreneurial side as he owned and drove a taxicab. He was also the owner
and operator of the motor coach bus company ASNEA, Inc. He was proud of the time he spent as
Chairman of the National Small and Minority Bus Owners and Transportation Association, Inc., and
presided over events at the conference held in 1985.
After his retirement from the Washington Gas Light Company, Archie was able to spend time on his
boat enjoying his hobby of fishing on the Potomac River, Chesapeake Bay and Solomon’s Island. He
was also a gun enthusiast who enjoyed shooting all types of guns and was very knowledgeable about
the power and accuracy rate of many guns. He spent hours at the gun range keeping his marksman
skills honed.
Later in his life he cherished his time spent with his companion, Eileen Fluharty, with whom he lived
for the last several years in Smithville, West Virginia. He often talked about how he loved being up in
the beautiful West Virginia mountains and how clean the air was. Joe, as Eileen affectionately called
him, would spend hours outdoors working with Eileen on her numerous acres of land. He was able to
renew his love of mechanics while working on Eileen’s lawnmowers and other motorized vehicles.
Unfortunately, in his later years, he endured a more than 20-year battle with cancer. He was a four-
time cancer survivor who remained brave and dedicated to his fight, even throughout his final months.
Archie’s children are grateful to Eileen for the love she shared with him and the exceptional care she
provided to their dad the last few years of his life, until the very end of his battle with cancer.
Archie leaves to cherish his memory: his daughter, Nancy (Curtis) Thomas; his sons Eric Lee, Aaron
Lee, and Christopher Lee Archer; his grandson, William Bagley; his great-granddaughter, Kaliyah; his
sister, Barbara Henderson; his niece Wendy Henderson and her son Liam; Aunts Evelyn
Hemmingway and Pat Mathis; and his loving companion and devoted caretaker, Eileen Fluharty; and
a host of other relatives and friends. Archie, also lovingly known over the years as “Little Brother”,
“Grandy” and “Joe”, will be deeply missed by family and friends who loved him.