Archie Gilbert Huber

Archie Gilbert Huber was born Dec. 9, 1930 in Milton, OR to Lucile and Gilbert Huber. He was the first of three children, including brother Elvin and sister Nelda. Archie graduated from high school in Lind, WA, where he played football. Drafted into the Army during the Korean War, Archie served in Labrador, Canada and New Orleans, LA.

In the early 1960s, Archie’s sister Nelda introduced him to a school librarian who worked with her in the Lynch School District. This was Ruth Klaus, a native of Portland. Archie drove to Portland almost every weekend from Joseph, OR, where he was living at the time, to visit Ruth. Typically, “Peanuts,” Archie’s first dachshund, accompanied him on the trip. Peanuts was only one of many dachshunds who would find a home with Archie. Others were Pretzel, Max, and Frankie. Archie shared his Fairlawn apartment with a rescue cat, called “Cat.”

Archie and Ruth married in October of 1965. They moved into their first and only home together, which was on the outskirts of Portland and near the school where Ruth worked. Archie worked for many years as a millwright welder. Among the companies he worked for were Publishers Paper and Reynolds Metals, from which he eventually retired. In 1969 Ruth and Archie had their only child, daughter Lynn. While Lynn was growing up, the family enjoyed spending time at their place on the Long Beach Peninsula and travelling in their small trailer. Among the places they visited were New Mexico, where Archie’s brother and family lived, Canada, and Alaska. Archie was fond of bird hunting, often going with friends to hunt on land owned by cousins in Eastern Washington.

After retirement, Archie and Ruth enjoyed travelling the country in their RV. They especially enjoyed visiting Lynn while she attended graduate school at Emory in Atlanta, GA and going to Branson, MO.  Sadly, Ruth was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992. Archie took very good care of Ruth, accompanying her to various appointments and treatments. He was with her when she died in February of 1997. Archie never remarried.

Archie was very proud of his daughter Lynn and, after she received her doctorate from Emory, he would brag that she was his “private doctor.” When Lynn started teaching at Elon University in North Carolina, he visited the school and proudly wore Elon sweatshirts. After Lynn and her spouse Mel Ah Mu purchased a home in Burlington, NC, Archie came out to visit a number of times, usually staying a month or so with Lynn, Mel, and their pets. While in NC, Archie visited Kitty Hawk, the site of the Wright brother’s first successful flight, and Billy Graham Library, as well as going to a watch Model-T races at a historic track.

Eventually, Archie moved into Fairlawn Senior Community in Gresham, OR. He often noted that the staff members there were a lot like family. Other “family” members included the friends and servers he encountered going for weekly coffees and breakfast. In the fall of 2017, due to advancing dementia and chronic pain from arthritis and osteoporosis, Archie moved from Fairlawn to Well-Rested Foster Care Home in Damascus, OR. There, Archie received good care from the Larsen family and passed away peacefully on June 5, 2018.

Archie is survived by his daughter Lynn and her spouse Mel Ah Mu; his sister Nelda Bonifacio; his nephews Elvin Huber, Melvin Huber, Gilbert Huber, Artigas Bonifacio and their families; his niece Maria Bonifacio-Sample and her wife. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you donate in Archie’s name to the Oregon Humane Society.