John Milton Archer, III, 82, passed away on Tuesday, July 12, 2016 at his home in Charlotte, with his three children at his side. Born September 3, 1933 in Knoxville, TN, he was the son of the late John Milton Archer, Jr. and Beatrice Payne Archer. He spent most of his life growing up surrounded by the beautiful mountains of Macon County in Franklin, NC. He graduated from Franklin High School, where he was the quarterback of his high school football team. After receiving a football scholarship to Davidson College, he played one year there before transferring to UNC-Chapel Hill where he completed a degree in Pediatric Dentistry. He later continued his education to expand his dental practice into Orthodontics. His career as the "favorite" and "best" pediatric dentist in Charlotte spanned more than 35 years. John was a Sigma Chi at UNC-CH and also a member of the Delta Sigma Delta dental fraternity. He was President of the UNC Dental Alumni Association, as well as President of the Southeastern Society of Pediatric Dentistry. As a long time Charlotte resident, John was very involved with the community around him. He was a member of Myers Park Presbyterian Church, where he was an elder & deacon, where he also enjoyed Bible studies & small groups, volunteering for Room in the Inn & travelling to Malawi for mission work. He spent time helping others at the soup kitchens & homeless shelters in Charlotte. John was a former President of the Rotary Club of North Charlotte. He was a member of Charlotte Country Club, since 1967, and so enjoyed tennis, swimming, & dining, but his true love at CCC was golf. His golf group, the RODS (Royal Order of the Dew Sweepers), was near and dear to his heart, & he maintained these close friendships until the very end. John was passionately involved with Myers Park Trinity Little League baseball as a coach, referee & umpire for over 15 years. John was a family-centered man who appreciated & enjoyed having his 3 children & their families growing up here in Charlotte. He had many hobbies & loved sharing them all with his family, (& some lucky friends). Besides golf, he loved long walks, hiking, camping, gardening, biking, rafting, skiing with family & friends, tennis, volleyball & family beach trips. Many special memories with family were created in the NC mountains. He longed for roaring fires at Hillcrest Circle in Franklin. He loved picking blueberries & blackberries & then making cobblers with his grandchildren. "Dadoo", as he was called by all the grandchildren, taught all the young people the "Rhododendron" song to sing & entertain them on many hikes. That made us all smile & laugh. He was a lifelong Tarheel inside & out, a marathon runner in his earlier days & had special canine friends "Rusty-dog" & Britty. He loved "pampakes" with the grandchildren. He is survived by his three children, all of Charlotte, John Milton Archer IV (Ellen), Charles Pressly Archer (Kelley), Mary Catherine Archer Chesney (Bobby), seven cherished grandchildren, John Reynolds Archer, Jordan (Chapman), Johnny & Megan Archer, Taylor & Grace Brookhouse & William Chesney, his one sister Mary Alice Archer McLaughlin of Boise, Idaho, a special, loving companion, Becky & his first wife & mother of his three children Betty Dale Pressly Archer. He was predeceased by a second wife Mebane McDonald Reed Archer & is survived by her children Tisha Reed Hardcastle (Bill) of Dallas, TX, Ashley Reed Walsh (Kevin) of Atlanta, GA, Rusty Reed (Kara) of Santa Barbara, CA & grandchildren Brooks & Will Hardcastle, Reed, Tally & Michael Walsh, and Brooks, Cooper, Logan, & Dashiell Reed. John is also survived by nephews John Edwin McLaughlin of Chester, MD & David McLaughlin of Chester Springs, PA, and a niece Carol McLaughlin Dixon of Boise, ID and their families. Memorials may be made to: Myers Park Presbyterian Church, Outreach Ministry, 2501 Oxford Place, Charlotte, NC 28207 or Novant Health Hospice, 324 North McDowell Street, Suite 200, P.O. Box 33549, Charlotte, NC 28233. -
Visitation Details
Friday, July 15th, 2016 5:00pm - 8:00pm, Residence of Ellen and John Archer, IV
Service Information
Saturday, July 16th, 2016 2:00pm, Myers Park Presbyterian Church
Interment Details
Myers Park Presbyterian Church