Sandra Elaine Archie

Sandra Elaine Archie was born in Houston on October 1, 1952 to Minerva Hawkins and Willie Ward Jr. She was raised in the Acres Homes community by her parents, Geneva Manual and Willie Manual. Sandra Archie graduated from McWilliams High School and attended Texas Southern University. In 1969, she married her high school sweetheart, Bishop Wendell Archie. Their forty five years of marriage produced eight children and twelve grand-children.

During their marriage, Sister Sandra, as she preferred to be called, was a devoted wife and mother. She valued her time spent with her husband, children and grand-children. Whether it was with her husband hunting and fishing, watching football games with her sons or out shopping with her daughters, she always found time to give equally of herself to her immediate family. Her devotion at home enabled her husband to minister to God’s people and build a ministry from eight people in one small building to a world-wide ministry with thousands of members in eight locations.

After moving with her husband to Lake Charles, Sister Sandra completed her certification in phlebotomy at Sowela Technical School. Soon after, she began her career at Quest Diagnostic and retired from Quest in October of 2012. She was a devoted employee of Quest Diagnostic for years until her retirement in 2012 and was beloved by her coworkers and patients.

After retiring from Quest, First Lady Sandra Archie was able to devote more of her time to her passion in life: working in the ministry and serving the people of God. She wore many hats around the ministry, including the executive office manager and Director of the Sisterhood, among others. Her role extended to and was felt by all facets of the ministry – culinary, ushers, janitorial, counseling, outreach and the marriage and single ministries. However, her passion was to bring people together – the oppressed, the outcast and especially those that were in need. She was not only loving and giving to those around her in the church and family, but she extended that same love to those in the community. Indeed, Sandra was a friend to many and mother to many more.

She was preceded in death by her mothers and fathers, and two sisters, Kriscita Ward and Delores Herring.

Sister Sandra leaves to celebrate her cherished memories: her husband of 45 years, Bishop Wendell Archie. Five Daughters: Desiree (Mark) Crawford of Houston, Dionne (Clament) Newport of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Tiffany Archie of Houston Texas, Rachel (Percival) Kane, and Leah Archie of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Four sons: Jessie (Sherette) Butler of Dallas, Texas; Wendell (Kendra) Archie Jr of Houston; and Simeon Archie and Aaron Archie of Houston Texas. Twelve Grandchildren: Brint, Brinnetta, and Bria Butler, Caleb and Joel Crawford, Jaden Jenkins, Chloe and Silas Newport, Zoë and Ava Kane, and Genesis and Layla Archie. Three Brothers: Reginald Ward, Byron Ward, and Gregory Ward. Three Sisters: Jeherral Hawkins, Maudtrice Isom, and Florence Tateman. One Aunt: Hellen Moore, of Los Angeles, California.

Although she is no longer with us, her legacy will live on through the impact she has had on her children and grand-children and the thousands that have been changed by her life.