Coleman John Archer

Coleman John Archer, 97, passed away on July 17, 2024. He was born September 17,

1926 in Spearman, Texas. He was the youngest son of Charles Otis Archer and Jessie Karr

Archer. Coleman is survived by his bride of 73 years Alice Jean Wheeler and their children

Michael Kelly Archer, Karynn Denise Turner (deceased), Coleman Kevin Archer, and Kerri Jean

Pennington. They also have seven beloved grandchildren, 15 of the sweetest great-

grandchildren, and one darling great-great-granddaughter and many loving nieces and

nephews.

Preceding Coleman in death were his parents, Charles Otis Archer and Jessie Karr

Archer, and his brothers and sisters - Charlie Barton Archer, George Milton Archer, Jessie

Nannie Wilson, Samuel Otis Archer, Luther McQuatty Archer, Viola Grace May, and Cass Louis

Archer.

God and family were very important to Coleman. First, God, then his parents and

siblings, and later, his wife and kids. Coleman attended church all his life. He was baptized in

1941. Because of his parents' physical limitations, his brother Sam was with him and gave him

his first hug when he came up out of the baptistry. Sam held an extra special place in his heart.

When Sam was killed in World War II, it had a huge impact on him. Coleman enlisted in

the Navy shortly thereafter at age 17. His ship went to Nagasaki a couple of months after it was

bombed. Seeing the children with nothing, he purchased candy on the ship and gave it to them.

Thus, the Candyman was born.

For the rest of his life, Coleman along with Alice loved children and worked with the

church youth. They ensured their own children and others had Bible study, social activities and

service to perform. One of Coleman's all-time favorites was Give Away Day. He would always

get so excited to see how many people from church participated and how much good it did for

the community.

Coleman's other delight was genealogy. He left a lasting gift for his family by compiling a

lot of family history into a book, The Legacy of John McQuatty Archer. John, his grandfather,

had 21 children. Coleman was one of 175 grandchildren. It is estimated that the extended

family would now number one million people. Coleman's work also led to the wonderful

discovery on many occasions that friends were also family. And isn't that the way it should be?

A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, July 27, 2024, at 1:00 p.m. at Legacy

Church of Christ in North Richland Hills, Texas. Coleman's final act of kindness was to donate

his body for medical research so there will not be a graveside service.

"For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be

united with him in a resurrection like his." Romans 6:5

The family requests memorials be made to Body & Soul Ministries

https://www.body-and-soul-ministries.org/

Link to the memorial service

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGu9M4Tw7LU