James Campbell Archer

1993 - 2025

On December 23, 2025, James C. Archer died peacefully in his sleep of heart failure; he was 32. James was born to Richard L. Archer and Cheryl B. Archer on June 23, 1993 in San Marcos, Texas. Before the age of two, he was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and shortly thereafter began a rigorous home program of Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) under the supervision of the Wisconsin Early Autism Project (WEAP) following the guidelines established by UCLA behavioral therapist Ivar Lovaas. Although he made some progress and learned a number of skills, he eventually lost all ability to speak and never regained it.

Happily, at the age of 11, he began to work with Soma Mukhopadhyay at her Austin clinic, Helping Autism through Learning and Outreach (HALO). With James, Soma used her "Rapid Prompting Method" (RPM), which was then an entirely new approach focusing on communication. Soma's pioneering method was particularly successful with clients with non-verbal autism like James. Under her tutelage at his weekly sessions, he increased his reading skills and learned to communicate using an alphabet letter board to form words and sentences. Using his alphabet board, he eventually even learned to write poetry!

James attended special needs classes at San Marcos ISD and graduated from a modified high school program there. Throughout his life, he loved meeting people and going to new places. He enjoyed walking with his parents all around San Marcos and going to museums and zoos in San Antonio and Austin. Well into his young adulthood, James loved his experiences at Morgan's Wonderland and the Children's Association for Maximum Potential Camp (CAMP Camp).

Along with his parents, James was a member of First United Methodist Church in San Marcos. He liked listening to all kinds of music, but he was an ardent fan of the Beatles. He also stayed informed about current news and politics and voted by mail in elections.

James was preceded in death by his adoring grandmother, Mary Lee Archer, and his devoted teacher-advocate mother, Cheryl. He is survived by his father, his sister, Katy, and several cousins in Colorado. Memorial gifts can be made to HALO at halosoma.org or Camp CAMP at campcamp.org. A celebration of James' life will be held at the First United Methodist Church on Saturday, March 21st at 10:00 AM.

Arrangements are under the direction of Thomason Funeral Home, 2001 Ranch Rd 12, San Marcos, TX 78666. For more information and to sign the online registry, please visit thomasonfuneralhome.com. June 23, 1993 - December 23, 2025