Archie Brown Faires

Decatur~ Archie Brown Faires, 83, passed away Wednesday, April 12, 2017 in Decatur.

Graveside service will be held Saturday, April 29, 2017 at 1:00P.M. at Steele Creek Presbyterian Church

7407 Steele Creek Road 

Charlotte, NC

I became a member of the Homo Saipan Sapiens on April 29, 1933 on the sand hill experiment station at Pontiac, South Carolina.

I was the fourth boy born to Mary Spratt Faires and Earl W. Faires. (There were no girls.) All of my siblings Alton, Earl Jr., and Jim preceded me in death.

Living in mother and daddy’s family was being surrounded with love and responsibility. Mother always said we are to love all people and Daddy taught us to be responsible not only to our selves but to society. He felt that we should work in our community to make it a better place for all to live.

When I was five, we moved to Wallace, North Carolina because Daddy’s work took him there. As I look at my life, this was a very positive move for me. Wallace was a small town as was the school and I got a good foundation for learning. I was an average student but acquired a passion for acquiring knowledge, a trait that stayed with me all my life.

My athletic ability was good enough to get a football scholarship to North Carolina State, but the desire to learn over road my desire for football, so I played only one year.

I completed college with the degree that most students get-a D.L. Degree. For those of you who do not know the acronym or abbreviation D.L, it stands for Damn Lucky.

At the end of my freshman year I met Doris McMillan whom I married on June 13, 1954. This was the most significant decision in my life. Doris truly was a helpmate for 61years.

Upon graduation from State, I went to Union Theological Seminary graduating in June of 1959. Upon graduation, I accepted a call to the first Presbyterian Church in Rayville, Louisiana. Later I served pastors as an associate minister at the First Presbyterian Church in Monroe, Louisiana and later pastor at Newport, Arkansas.

After ten years in the ministry, with Doris’ support, I continued my education at the Institute of Religion in Houston, Texas. This was a degree in family therapy.

Upon graduation I accepted a job at the American National Insurance Company as in house counselor. A job I greatly enjoyed for 26 years.

From my perspective, this decision was the most positive one I made for my family and me.It expanded us into the broader world and gave opportunities to each child they would never have had.

Doris and my union produced four children: Kathryn, Dan, Marsha and Leigh Ann.

I loved each one very dearly. They are each very much their own individual self and I love each for that. When Kathryn married Rudy, I accepted him with a bonding love into our family just as I did Georgia and Denise, Dan’s wife, and Roxanne, his stepdaughter.

There are three grand children that brought fulfilling joy in my life. Rebecca, Jacob, and Vincent. The most painful event in my life was when I had to call Dan and tell him that Rebecca had been killed in a car wreck.

Jacob, Vincent andRoxanne have moved on into their adult life and are having a great adventure with themselves.I am proud of each of them.

Professionally, I had an evolving life. First, I was going to work in the agricultural world but changed my life’s course of serving people as a Presbyterian minister.

A large part of my ministry was geared in helping my church members understand that with the civil rights movement we had to adapt to changes in our society. Living with and moving the church congregation in “those days” was very rewarding for the members and me.

When I was in Rayville, I bought a book titled Marriage and Family Therapy. When I completed the book, I knew that that was a program I wanted to enter. It took me ten years for Doris and me to find a way for me to get the education for this work. Twenty-six years as a counselor gave me fulfillment. It was a very rewarding profession.

I want to thank all the people that have guided, nurtured and supported me on my journey of life with out their involvement in my life;it would not have been as rewarding and loving.

Mother and Daddy were right “Love all people and give back to your society.”

Thank you Doris for your love and support for sixty-one years.

 Service Information