Edna Archer - Obituary

dna L. Archer was born on January 16, 1921 in Georgetown, Guyana. She was one of seven children born to the late Maud Mandeville and Edward Featherstone. She departed this life as peacefully as she lived on November 23, 2012 with the everlasting love and deep admiration of the family she leaves behind. Affectionately known as “Auntie” to her family and friends, she grew up in Guyana and for a short while in Barbados, following the deaths of her parents when she was a very young girl. She remained close to her brothers and sisters, Jack, George, Edward McDonald, Elsie, Doris and May, despite their separations. As a young woman in Guyana, she learned to sew, a skill that she generously shared with family and friends in need of a special outfit or a simple alteration. She shared a special relationship with her older brother, Donald, whom everyone knew as “Poppa.” She and her sister May lived with Poppa and his young family after their parents’ death and developed a very close and loving relationship with his children David, Sheila, Barbara, Desmond, Shirley, Esther, Brindsley and Joycelyn. Their closeness continued throughout her lifetime. She often told the story of meeting Alphanso “Boise” Archer at a local dance and the two of them becoming constant companions. They married and had five children—Orin, Lennox, Ron, Andre and Donna. In January 1970, she moved her family to the United States in search of a better life and to be with her relatives who had settled in Washington, D.C. She soon became a reliable fixture in her neighborhood and was entrusted with the care of neighborhood children who fell in love with her and the devoted care she provided. She was hired as a seamstress at the downtown Woodward & Lothrop’s Department Store and retired from that position in the 1980s. In retirement, she stayed busy sewing for her family and friends and babysitting whenever her services were needed. She was an exceptionally kind woman who lived a life of prayer and always enjoyed life’s simple pleasures. She loved life and her family dearly, and drew great delight and comfort in family gatherings. She loved to read her bible, watch televangelist Joel Osteen, golf tournaments involving Tiger Woods, and her TV game shows. She also liked listening to opera music; eating fresh seafood, dressing up with a hat and scarf, and taking long car rides on the open road. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her son, Andre; her husband, “Boise;” her brothers, Jack, George, and Poppa Featherstone; sisters, Doris Hewitt, and Elsie Clarke. She is survived by three sons, Orin (Vickie), Lennox (Janet), Ron; a daughter, Donna; her sister, May Featherstone; May's sons Gregory and Desmond Sumner; sister-in-law Olga Featherstone; a brother-in-law, Sidney Archer; five grandchildren, Tony, Trevor, Andre, Angel, and Daniel, a great granddaughter, Kindle, nine great grand children, three great-great grandchildren; and host of nieces, nephews and other family and friends. Relatives and friends are invited to Edna's Life Celebration at Mt. Calvary Catholic Church, 6700 Marlboro Pike, Forestville, MD on Monday, December 3, 2012 from 10am until Mass of Christian Burial at 11am. Interment Lincoln Memorial Cemetery, 4001 Suitland Rd., Suitland, MD. Please leave your thoughts and memories by signing the guestbook above.