Suffolk University - Beacon Yearbook (Boston, MA)

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In Memoriam One of the great joys in life is friendship with a man whose personal qualities forever influence the lives of those who know him. Such a man was Hiram J, Archer — father, teacher, trustee, and friend. His impact is all the more re- markable by contrast with his modesty and humility. Born eighty-eight years ago on the Maine frontier, the son of a blacksmith, he worked as a lumberjack to earn money to attend Boston University and the Uni- versity of Maine, Upon graduation, he helped his brother Gleason found Suffolk Law School, taught law for fifty years, and has been continuously associated with the University until a month before his death on March 4, 1966, a period of sixty years. A devoted family man, he never tired of talking with pride of his children, grand- children, and wife. Others are proud of their fine houses and cars, but his wealth was his family,, He was characteristically kind and courteous, though quick to censure injustice or deviation from principle. In an age when people often seem more concerned with what they can get than with what they can give, it is pro- foundly sobering to know a man who asked so little and gave so much. His life was a sermon by example: when man works for love of others, the spirit of God moves in him,. His writing and speech were characterized by Yankee wit, frugality and in- cisiveness. He could say more in a sentence than most men can in a page. Although dedicated to the ideal of excellence in education, he also appreciated the worth of the average student. God bless the ' C student, he once said, He never turns into an educated fool. As a teacher of Constitutional Law, he had faith in the American democratic process, and taught not only an understanding of the Law but an appreciation of the values on which the Constitution is based. In an age when fundamental values are often deserted for the new or expedient, his life reminds us that personal fulfillment comes not through license but through duty. He accepted on faith the paradoxical nature of God ' s plan. He understood that the potential for good and evil exists in every man; that intelligence and education are not synonymous with honesty and integrity; that the logic of emotion is often stronger than the logic of reason; that men must live by principles yet achieve social goals through political accommodation. He recognized the limitations of man as well as his ability to transcend those limitations. This lean, erect man with the gentle voice prided himself on his physical fitness and longevity, which he attributed to healthy stock, hard work, and the will of God. Having survived tuberculosis in his youth and cancer in his maturity, the loss of a son in war and death of his wife, he knew that Through many tribu- lations we must enter the kingdom of God. Even in his eighty-eighth year he scorned the use of the elevator. Typically, he would pause beside a cluster of overweight students waiting for the elevator and, eyes twinkling, say to the heaviest, Young man, when you get to be my age, what condition do you think your heart will be in? Several years ago he invited me to his farm in Middleboro and with charact- eristic generosity sent me home with a carload of shrubs. The shoot of a crab apple tree on my front lawn is now fifteen feet tall. It has strange gnarled branches and thorny spikes. Clusters of golden nuggets defy the winter wind and snow so that hungry birds may eat. And now, as the buds prepare to burst, I am reminded that the tree, like the friend who gave it, gives comfort, beauty, strength. May the choir of angels receive you, and with Lazarus, who was once poor, may you have everlasting rest, Asst-Dean Joseph H. Strain 25