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Letter to the editor

Taking care of others was her life's work

By STEPHANIE HAYES, Times Staff Writer
Published December 14, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT [Family photo] After battling numerous health problems, Mrs. Archibald died Wednesday at age 91.

MADEIRA BEACH - It wasn't that Mary Frances Archibald was outgoing - she was quite the opposite. But she needed to take care of things.

When she played school with friends, she taught them to spell Mississippi. As a teen, she drove her younger sister around. When her family had parties, she cooked.

Birds flocked to her home. Mrs. Archibald stocked a freezer with chicken necks to feed them. A pelican with a bum leg named Gimpy always stared in the window. Cats came, too, and raccoons. They all ate. She couldn't let them leave hungry.

* * *

Mrs. Archibald was the wife of Alex Archibald Sr., whose father bought and sold land on Madeira Beach and is credited with naming the city.

Mrs. Archibald and her husband were real estate agents. They knew everyone in town. She worked hard but still got dinner on the table. At night, the family gathered to listen to Amos 'n' Andy and Dashiell Hammett on the radio.

She was strong and athletic. When her son, Alex Archibald Jr., didn't return from an island camping trip in time for a dental visit, she jumped in a boat alone and rowed to get him.

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They met in high school. She was a beauty, with olive skin, high cheekbones and coal black hair. The married a few years later.

Mr. and Mrs. Archibald were old-fashioned. They weren't affectionate in public, or in front of the kids. But their bond ran deep.

In the 1970s, Mrs. Archibald suffered depression after a surgery and spent months in the hospital, said her son. A new side of her husband showed. He devoted everything to her health.

"I don't remember them having health insurance," said Alex Archibald. "That was a big cost. His effort, his everything was getting my mom back to life again."

That year, around Christmas, she did come back.

* * *

When her husband died in 1988, Mrs. Archibald rallied. She took over the finances. She learned how to fix the car. She ate McDonald's chicken nuggets and watched sunsets at the beach. She cashed $10 checks just to talk to people.

And she still loved her animals. Her cat, Precious, always sat in Mrs. Archibald's lap.

After battling numerous health problems, Mrs. Archibald died Wednesday at age 91. That day, Precious walked into the empty bedroom. She was gone.

The cat walked over to Mrs. Archibald's caretaker and sat in her lap.

Stephanie Hayes can be reached at shayes@sptimes.com or 727 893-8857.

Biography

Mary Frances Archibald

Born: Nov. 11, 1916

Died: Dec. 12, 2007

Survivors: Children, Cappy Longstreth and Alex Archibald Jr.; daughter-in-law, Faye Hill Archibald; granddaughter, Allison Archibald; grandson, Alex Archibald III and his wife, Kristy; great-grandchildren, Parker and Paige Archibald; sister, Cappy Burdette; nephew, David Burdette.

Services: 11 a.m. Saturday at Church by the Sea, 495 137th Ave., Madeira Beach. E. James Reese Funeral Home.

[Last modified December 13, 2007, 23:43:06]