A tribute to my dad
This is written in memory of my father,
Archie Lumbert Jr, born July 8, 1927 in
Clarksville Michigan. He was the 4th of 6
children born to Archie Lumbert and Letha
Heaven, and being named for his father he was called "Junior" in the family home.
He grew up with his family in the Kalamazoo
area, attending local schools during the
height of the great depression. Though Archie never graduated, he always held a good job and earned 17 credits in Applied Technology at LCC, our first ancestor known to have attended college.
When world war two called Archie, he was too
young to join, so he worked as a fireman at
Fort Custer, near Battle Creek, Michigan.
When he was old enough, he joined the
United States Army. As a jeep mechanic, and fireman he toured England, France and Germany in post war Europe.
After his service, Archie came home to his
family and settled in Mesick Michigan. It was here that he met and married Marie Sayer.
With her, he had 5 children as they moved
from Mesick to Flint, and then near Holt, he
built the house at 1287 N. Onondaga Rd.
In 1959 he moved his young family to Charlotte Michigan. It was here at 211 W. Stoddard St that Archie would live until past his retirement in 1981.
After 13 years of marriage Marie left the family for Archie to raise, which he did, while working full time at Oldsmobile in Lansing.
In 1965 Archie met and married Marice Davis of Charlotte, and moved her 4 girls into the home, to raise as his own. Our dad didn"t preach about family values, he lived them.
Since then Marice has been Dad's wife, and mothered both of their children. Dad and Marice took care of each other until his final day.
In 1981 my dad moved to Crescent City, Florida, and worked as a part time merchant at local flea markets. In 1985 he moved to his final home in Bostwick, Florida. For 18 years he has maintained an inventory of household items and tools for resale at the area markets.
Here he met many people, and always had a story to tell of his latest items, gotten at bargain prices and sold to interesting strangers, from the back of his vans, trucks and trailers.
Though he worked 30 years at General Motors,
Archie drove all types of cars. I can
remember Hudsons; Studebakers; Desotos;
Jeeps; Dodges; Ramblers; Caddilacs; Fords; Chevrolets; Volkswagens; and even a Toyota pickup, which he made into a 4 wheel drive and put his name on the side.
Tinkering and fixing things was what my dad did for entertainment and enjoyment throughout his life. I can remember projects ranging from model airplanes to motorhomes, that filled many of Dad's hours. My personal favorite was half 1954 Cadillac hearse and half pickup camper, and served as our great getaway machine for weekend excursions that brought the outside world into our young lives.
During my school years Dad belonged to The Manistee Muzzel Loading Gun Club. Many
weekends were spent traveling back and forth
to the north country. We camped out and stayed with my grandparents, whom I was lucky to have know well. Here my dad and his folks taught us many valuable lessons. Providing their culture for us to learn from, and planting the seeds for our yearning to see the world and meet people from other places.
It was during this time that Dad built several muzzle-loading rifles . These he gave to his sons, after his retirement, along with a few prized peices of his antique furniture.
My dad was one of the first CB radio
operators in the area, and built and used them long before the craze in the mid 1970's. KHJ-3628 was known on the CB as "Archibald" from that "Charlottetown", and he talked all over the state, and was active for a time in CB radio clubs. "How about that
Archibald base, ya got a copy on this weak
mobile?"
During his entire life, Archie was a music
lover. His favorites were the classic
Country and Western songs from folks like
Hank Williams; Johnny Cash; Tex Ritter; and
others, whose names and songs are all but
forgotten today. Many times over the years he went to The Grand Ole Opry and other places
to see his favorites on stage. Some of my
earliest memories are of my dad singing their songs, as I went to sleep or woke up, in camp or on the road. At a late stage of life Dad learned to play the autoharp. On several occasions I was priveleged and delighted by his performance.
I'm sure my dad wore a smile every day of his life, and though he had his angry moments, he always treated everyone with respect. His
infectious wit and positive comments always
kept the conversation upbeat and civil.
Though plain were his surroundings and few
were his cravings, Dad was a proud man.
More than a few times he bent the ear of whoever would listen to accounts of his good fortune.
The closest thing to a crisis in my dad's life that I can remember, was during the Cuban missle crisis. Dad explained to us kids what could happen and what to do. I still remember him instructing me how to hot wire a car, and to drive the backroads up north. As scarry as it was, Dad had a plan to cope, and made it known to us that we could survive.
I never once saw my dad take a drink of alcohol, though there are some who can remember it. He never saw the inside of a jail. Dad's smoking habit lasted from highschool, until about 1990. In the end it may have been a seed from that spot on his lung that grew too fast in his head to treat.
Archie was seldom seen in church, preferring to keep his relationship with the lord, just between the two of them. Knowing what God expects from all of us and knowing my dad, I can take comfort in the certainty that he's been called to heaven.
This last week, on May 13, 1999, our father died at Palatka, Florida. He spent his final months resting, while battling a brain tumor.
He is survived by his wife; 1 sister; 3 brothers; 9 children; 15 grandchildren; and 3 great-grandchildren.
Archie Lumbert Jr. will be missed by every one that ever knew him, and I'm very proud to have been his son.
We love you, Dad. You're still with us.
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