Obituary of Peter A. Archer

Peter Archer believed that the best time was that spent surrounded by books and cats. He passed away suddenly at the age of 67 on September 14, 2021. Peter was born on January 4, 1954 in Franklin, Pennsylvania to Francis and Vivian Archer. He and his sister, Marcie, grew up in Chicago, where in high school he joined the movement against the Vietnam War and then the Socialist movement, fighting for the rights of workers. For many years he taught college course, sharing his love of medieval history, Latin, and various mythologies. He acted in many theater productions, including ‘The Physicists’, ‘The Odd Couple’, and ‘School for Scandal’. In 1997, he started work at TSR as an editor. Most recently, he worked at Adams Media, a subsidiary of Simon and Schuster, where he edited non-fiction books, and wrote several, including one on Norse mythology. Peter loved wandering used bookstores, especially those with a cat or two. He greatly enjoyed living in Massachusetts, where he could easily indulge his interest in American history and the libraries were plentiful. While he wasn’t passionate about sports, he did enjoy seeing the Red Sox beat the Orioles every summer and wore a loud, garish Patriots sweater during football season. He loved spending time with his grandchildren, who remember his love of books and enjoyed walking on the beach with him. He preferred books to movies, but looked forward to seeing every new James Bond movie in the theater. He never turned on the radio on long drives because “we should talk to each other and enjoy each other’s company”. He spun wool, and was always eager to find new wool for his various knitting projects, at one point even speculating about whether he could spin cat wool. He spent his life working for a better world, where people were kind to each other. He passed on to his grandchildren a love of books, and a desire to see justice done in the world. He loved nature and saw beauty in the world. He will be sorely missed.