Gloucester — Grace Hayes Archibald, known to friends and family as Pat, died on Sunday, August 19, at Seacoast Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Gloucester, at the age of 102. Grace Miriam Hayes was born in Ilion, NY, on April 15, 1910, the first child of Alice Sophie (MacSwain) Hayes and Lawrence Warner Hayes. Along with her two sisters, Dorothy (Dot) and Elizabeth (Bet), she grew up in Somerville. After high school, Pat attended Simmons College in Boston, graduating in 1932. That fall she married Henry Kimball Archibald, originally from Nova Scotia. Pat and Kim moved to Winchester, in 1934 to live with her twice-widowed father. They raised four children in the house on Penn Road; David Kimball (Dave), Janet Louise (Jan), Margaret Elizabeth (Peg), and Lawrence Ian (Larry). Her dear husband, Kim, died in 1990, and in 2006 she moved to Country Club Heights in Woburn, where she continued to enjoy her life.
Pat’s interests were wide-ranging. A true “curious naturalist,” she loved identifying wildflowers, birds, and mushrooms, even attending the all-mushroom banquets of the Boston Mycological Society. She was a long-time member of the Shakespeare Reading Group of Winchester and an occasional performer in the Congregational Parish Players. She took on many responsibilities for the First Congregational Church, including serving as president of the Women’s Association and as one of the first women deacons. Pat was a friendly visitor to patients at mental hospitals, and for many years, until she was 96, she drove for Meals on Wheels. She was an active member of the League of Women Voters, always urging her adult children to “write to your congressman!” when they were upset about a political situation. The family cottage on a lake in Maine was a special place, where she loved to swim, watch loons and herons from the deck, and challenge her family to ferocious rounds of poker. An avid reader, especially of history and biographies, she delighted in leading book discussions both with senior citizens and with sixth-graders.
We will miss her sharp mind, her great sense of humor, and her generous spirit. She is survived by her four children and their spouses; David Archibald and Marion Phipps of Gloucester, Janet Levin of Washington, DC, Peg and Bob Anderson of Rockport, and Larry Archibald and Laura Chancellor of Santa Fe, NM; grandchildren Pamela Beth Levin, Katherine Elizabeth Levin, James Archibald Levin and his wife, Kimberly, Meredith Margaret Anderson and her husband, Mark Williamson, Nicholas Ivan Anderson and his wife, Katherine Shanks, and Rachel Caitilin Theis and her husband, David Theis. Pat’s great-grandchildren are Olivia Grace Lasché, Benjamin Archibald Levin, Reece Gardiner Levin, Jasper McNeil Williamson, Ivan Ashton Williamson, Felix Shanks Anderson, Margot Shanks Anderson, and Grace Caitilin Theis. She leaves nieces and nephews in the Cleaves and Crandall families and on the Canadian side, members of the Archibald clan. She was predeceased by her sisters and by her son-in-law, Herbert R. Levin.
ARRANGEMENTS: A memorial service will be held on September 22, at 11 AM, at the First Congregational Church of Winchester, 15 Dix Street. A reception will follow at the church. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Simmons College, 300 The Fenway, Boston, MA 02115, or the American Friends Service Committee, 1501 Cherry St., Philadelphia, PA 19102.
