Philip Roy Archibald

1947 - 2024

Philip Roy Archibald
November 4, 1947 - November 8, 2024
Philip R. Archibald, a long time resident on Entiat River Road and a Fisheries Biologist with the U.S. Forest Service, passed away on November 8th in Wenatchee, surrounded by his sister Kathy, niece Leah, and close friends Alison Neher and Maggie McManus, from metastatic lung cancer. He was the only son of Katherine Pesek Archibald from Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Erwin Archibald of Kezar Falls, Maine. Phil was born in San Francisco, California and grew up with 5 sisters, 4 of them younger than he. The family moved frequently throughout the U.S., on military assignments, including stints in Alabama, California, New Mexico and Ohio where his father was conducting research related to the space program.
Phil was a true outdoorsman who enjoyed fishing, hunting, and hiking. He discovered his love of the outdoors while growing up in New Mexico wandering, mostly free, around the desert, collecting arrowheads, and various reptiles including snakes, horned toads and lizards for the family collection in the backyard. With his younger sister in tow, he played the role of guide and adventurer, falling in love with nature, hunting and exploring. On childhood adventures with his father, he enjoyed long days in the forest while hunting big game and game birds and quiet afternoons on rivers while fishing. Family vacations were always camping trips and included foraging for wild fruits and berries and fish and shellfish for meals.
Phil attended high school at Xenia High School in Ohio where he played varsity sports including football and wrestling. After graduating high school, he briefly attended UC Davis in 1965 where he met Kim Lohse, who would become his life partner 17 years later. He left UC Davis to volunteer for service in the Navy and was deployed to Vietnam from 1966-1970. He later settled in Seattle and earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in graphic design at the University of Washington. While living in the Seattle area and working as a graphic designer from 1981-1986, Phil explored the varied outdoor terrain of Washington State, especially east of the Cascades and discovered Wenatchee and its surrounding communities when he would visit for the Apple Blossom Festival in the springtime. He began to return to his roots as an outdoorsman, enrolling in the University of Washington and earning a second Bachelor's degree in Fisheries Science in 1990.
In 1982, Phil and Kim had reconnected and became inseparable. They relocated to Eastern Washington, settling in Chelan County and spent 27 happy years together there, embedding themselves in the local community. They married in 1991 and bought a piece of property on Entiat River Road with an old farmhouse and the river nearby. In Phil's words, "I found myself in the right place as I lived in the Entiat Valley. I was consumed by the birds, the natural history, the beauty of nature and the closeness of the community." Phil took walks almost every day to Stormy Preserve, next door to his home and was a guest scientist for class field trips there. Kim also participated in a variety of naturalist activities with Phil and became the "6th Archibald sister" as Phil's sisters would often say.
Food was a central fixture of Phil's life, especially with his late wife Kim. Phil was a master at grilling salmon, and enjoyed meticulous preparations of sauces, dressings and fresh vegetables that brightened their meals. Together, Phil and Kim built a large, fenced garden that supplied their kitchen and was thoughtfully planted with plans laid out on index cards in anticipation of the changing seasons. Their property was sprinkled with fruit trees that became seasonal pies, succulent dried fruit and bright preserves.
While Phil never had any children, over the years he shared many dogs and cats with his late wife, Kim, including some he loved dearly Luna, Mac & Baxter Brown and Poppy & Sunny. Two years after Kim passed away, Phil's last dog, a German short haired pointer, died in 2020. Phil sorely missed his daily walks and hunting trips with Baxter. He wrote in a journal that "I am so sad I cannot cry. The house is so quiet and empty now. One less beating heart."
Phill was a Fisheries Biologist with the U.S. Forest Service in the Entiat and Chelan Ranger Districts of the Wenatchee National Forest from 1992 until his retirement in 2010. Phil led hikes on the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust property, identifying plant species and birds as he trekked, explaining their importance in the life cycle and health of the land. He became an expert in aquatic ecosystems and salmon habitat and how they were impacted by human activities. One of Phil's hobbies was bird watching and he had a special love for the Kingfisher. He also enjoyed tracking and hunting game birds including ducks and pheasant. His passion for nature and conservation was imparted to those fortunate enough to work with Phil, often influencing their own views of land and water use.
Phil and his late wife, Kim, both sought ways to integrate their passions into their life work and positively impact the lives of other people. As a member of the Entiat River and Wenatchee communities, Phil was deeply entrenched in many local organizations so that he could exercise his commitment to land conservation and education. Though he was involved in many organizations in the area, some of particular personal importance to him included the establishment of the Stormy Preserve, the North Central Audubon Society, the Columbia Breaks Fire Interpretive Center, the Cascades Fisheries Organization, and the Entiat School District. Over the three decades that Phil lived in this region, he participated in countless community activities and though all of his passion projects may not be listed here, that does not lessen their importance in his life or the impact his support had on other people or the land.
Phil had strong convictions and never backed down from a good argument. He cared deeply about the precious natural resources available to people and dedicated his career to studying the health of the local ecosystem from the soil to the water through fisheries management. Phil was committed to consuming only what he needed and generated little waste, actively reusing things until they were truly expended and living off the land as much as possible. Phil enjoyed expressing his artistic nature with annual handmade wood block holiday cards, stepping stones, kitchen design, and paper making with his sisters. He also explored rivers and art on vacations with his extended family and regularly hosted his mother, sisters, nieces and nephews at his home on the Entiat River.
Phil's dear friends Alison, Maggie, Rick, Kurt and Kim's niece Kristen, supported Phil through some of his toughest timesthe death of his wife, Kim, and his health decline. They diligently watched over his well being and health over the past few years. Their connections were established through Kim and the U.S. Forest Service, his two biggest loves. In 2022, Phil reconnected with a dear friend, Sylvia Pease, whom he met at the age of 15 while spending the summer in Maine with his grandparents. Despite living on opposite coasts, they rekindled their relationship during long conversations over the phone and sharing a few visits together in Cashmere, where Phil spent his last two years.
Phil's nursery school teacher in 1950 stated that "working with Philip is very rewarding in that so little of what he learns is lost." He retained that ability to collect and utilize information throughout his life. Phil's vast knowledge about the natural world that he accumulated and shared enthusiastically at every opportunity is a huge loss, especially for those closest to Phil.
Phil is survived by sisters Amber Tallent, Kathy Archibald, Gelly Landman and Trinity Domino, 9 nieces and nephews and their children. A memorial service will be held in 2025 to honor Phil. Please email Phil's nephew, Jacob Salomon, at jacob.salomon79@gmail.com to request details about the memorial service.