David Archer

So this is where our fantasy tale takes a sad turn.

In July of 2017, David Archer lost his fight to cancer. His wife, Kathy was with him fighting alongside with family and friends who loved David, which would have been a feat to not do.

We met Dave and Kate years ago at an SCA event. Aiden was just a little feller. I remember being unsure of Dave at first, because he had such a determined expression and was pretty

quiet when I met him. That being said, Kate was wide open armed and welcoming to us from the get go, and it didn't take long until I saw Dave smile, heard him laugh and saw how much of himself he gave to others. He was the MOV of our group (dubbed Minister of Vice) and along with a few others spearheaded some of the most important parts of the SCA group we camped with...primarily the bar and liquors within. ;)

David was a hard worker who would always volunteer his time to go prepare the campsites ahead of time and would lend a helping hand to anyone anytime it was needed. That was his personality - to be willing to give of himself to the benefit of others without asking anything in return. He had Aiden's favor and was his 'fighter' that year in the SCA event. Aiden still remembers it, and once I saw Dave out of his 'work' mode and

in his 'fun' mode, it was that much tougher to not want to hang out with the guy! I only saw Dave personally probably only once the last year of his life, unfortunately...and it may have even been longer. We were able to go visit Dave, Kate and some of their friends just hanging out at their house. He and I certainly enjoyed a lot of viewpoints and ideologies and had discussions about them on social media. In hindsight, I think while I knew what kind of person Dave was from his actions, I got a better understanding of 'why' via our discussions on facebook.

Dave and Kate came out and supported me in my bands, and Kate made sure to tell me how much Dave loved coming to see Love Pump or Musical Blades when we played the Voodoo. I would occasionally run into them when visiting with people, but I know now that they were there more than I ever realized.

Dave and Kate were a couple that you could tell from any side had a lot of true love for one another. The way they doted on one another. The things they did together and for one another. The life they led together. It was an obvious love that, truth be told, is somewhat elusive for many in this day and age. It was

magical, and they were perfect for one another.

Dave and Kate shared a core group of friends that did a lot of things together, both within SCA activities and on their own. The group was and is known as Tenacity. When Dave knew his time was about up, he and Kate had many heart to hearts. She shared with me;

"After they came in and told us Dave had about a week to live we talked about well, everything. He wish was for me to take our friends and go to Ireland and to take him with me. It was my lifelong dream to go there and our favorite movie was “The Quiet Man”. He loved it and probably watch it a half dozen times a year. He would quote it to me often and it always made me giggle. He wanted me to go crazy there, to go everywhere, see everything, he wanted me to live. He said he would check in with me as often as he could and hoped I would laugh and love again. So the day after his funeral- I booked our trip."

Fast forward to February, where Amy and our friend Mirinda were having a dance class together and her husband Kelly and I went to a gaming store and then we all had a nice dinner together. These are friends that we've always adored, but just rarely are able to get together with. Kelly had been listening to a podcast about Ireland and told me

about the trip they were going on and the story behind it about Kate and Dave. It's the first thing I had heard about it and I thought that was awesome...and so "Dave" to make something like that happen. Tim and Lori were also going - other friends from SCA that live down by Branson and that we try to keep up with via facebook and occasionally, we've been able to run into them when down there. A third couple was slated to go, as well, but were unable to for various reasons.

A couple weeks later, we were at Rocky Horror Picture Show with about 20 of our friends after Amy had put out a random invitation on facebook and several people from all our circles of band, work, gaming, normal life, etc crossed paths and went together, including Kelly and Mirinda. While we were there, we ran into but Kate, who asked Amy if we had passports.

The rest happened very fast, as she needed to see if names could be changed on all the paperwork and make everything official and we were given the true invitation to join along our friends in late Feb or early March. Anyone that knows me well

recognizes I am a planner and like to be over prepared, but with just a couple weeks of time to order things, get work schedule revamped, make sure kids were cared for, etc...I spent very little time looking up anything about Ireland and was committed to being 'along for the ride' for once, with no expectations or things I 'had' to do...just getting an amazing opportunity to go experience Ireland...and for Amy and I to experience our dream of going together.

I will never be able to thank Dave and Kate enough for their gift and for thinking enough of us to take us on this unforgettable journey, and to our friends that we traveled with.

Rest in Peace, David Archer - you were an amazing man, husband, father and MOV!