“A MAN in a million” – those were the words chosen to describe a former Lord Mayor of York and tireless fighter for the rights of elderly people, as farewells were said to one of the city’s best-loved figures.
Jack Archer, who twice served as York’s civic figurehead and chairman of Age Concern York, passed away last week, leaving behind a lifetime’s legacy of campaigning, achievement and gratitude from the people he helped.
Hundreds of mourners, including York MP Hugh Bayley, current Lord Mayor Coun John Galvin, and the Sheriff of York, Jill Burnett, attended the funeral of the 90-year-old, from Holgate – who also founded Older Citizens’ Advocacy York and was president of York Blind And Partially Sighted Society – at York Crematorium yesterday.
Among those paying tribute to long-serving councillor Mr Archer, who leaves a wife, Ena, and a daughter, Brenda, was Age Concern York’s chief officer, Sally Hutchinson, who said: “Jack was our voluntary sector and the whole essence of promoting the rights of elderly people.
“He was like my conscience, my Jiminy Cricket, and he was never off-duty, fighting on issues all the time. He got involved in all sorts of things and was such a happy and active person. I will never forget him.”
Long-time friend Bob Towner, who was director of housing at City of York Council and its forerunner York City Council, recalled how Mr Archer would arrive for Guildhall meetings on his moped and, as Lord Mayor, once asked whether the upper floor of the Mansion House could be turned into a family home because the building was “too big for him”.
“He was modest and from humble origins, and he campaigned in his own quiet and determined way – his commitment to York and his beloved Holgate was unparalleled,” he said. “Jack was a kind man, a gentle man – a man in a million. I cannot really believe he is no longer with us.”
Following Mr Archer’s death, calls have been made for a memorial service to be held in his honour, with the idea currently being studied by City of York Council.
• The Press attended the funeral at the invitation of Mr Archer’s family.
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