Mary Belle Archer

Mary was born on December 28, 1944, to William and Norma (nee Smith) Cooney, in Farmington, MO. Mary grew up in Farmington, where she met her late husband, Samuel Joseph Boyer. Mary and Sam resided in St. Louis, MO, and raised two children, Samuel Dean (Linda) Boyer of Wildwood, MO, and Susan Lynn Boyer of Tampa, FL.

Mary was a devoted mother and homemaker. She was active in her children’s school and sports activities, as well as her church and community. Mary loved to garden and especially cherished the roses she grew. She also enjoyed baking. There was rarely a time without a freshly baked dessert in her home. She enjoyed crafts of all types but was especially fond of cross-stitching.

Mary relocated to Kansas City, where she pursued a long-time goal of furthering her education. While attending business school, she met and later married Lt. Col. James H. Archer. Mary and Jim married in 1984 and spent 23 wonderful years together. Mary welcomed, and was welcomed by, Jim’s four daughters: Melissa A. (John) Van Valkenburgh of Orlando, FL; Susan A. (Jim) Downing of Wailuku, HI; Laura A. (Glen) Saucer of Montgomery, AL; and Jane A. (David) Miller of Lompoc, CA. Mary and Jim thoroughly enjoyed traveling. Two of their most treasured trips were a cruise to Hawaii and a trip to Europe.

Mary took her baking from hobby to entrepreneurial opportunity in 1991 when she opened her catering business, The Dessert Cart. For 14 years, she served amazing meals and desserts to her customers, all of whom she referred to as dear friends. Upon ‘hanging up her apron’, Mary published a cookbook containing The Dessert Cart’s most frequently requested recipes and others that were simply her favorites. Mary loved to bake for her friends and family, and she was always eager to teach anyone that was interested how to cook or cross-stitch.

Mary provided loving support to Jim throughout their 23 years together, until his passing in 2007. In recent years, Mary lived in assisted living facilities in Raytown and Kansas City, MO. She never failed to boast about the activities, the great food and, most of all, the wonderful friends and caring staff at each facility.

Mary was the sister to: Alice (Fred) Murphy, Nancy (Gary) Marler, Danny Hand, Jack Hand, Debbie (Tom) Hunting and Cathy Hand. She was the proud grandmother to Samuel Jacob Boyer, Michael Joseph Boyer, Amanda Van Valkenburgh, Sarah Van Valkenburgh, Rachael Saucer, Benjamin Saucer, Carli Diaz, James Miller, Matthew Miller and Laura Miller; and also three great grandchildren. She was a dear aunt, cousin and friend of many.

Mary is preceded in death by her parents, William and Norma Cooney; her husband, James H. Archer; her daughter, Jill; and her stepdaughter, Susan A. Downing.

Our family would like to take this opportunity to thank each of Mary’s friends and every staff member that enriched her life. You are so special to her and to us. We would also like to recognize and extend our deepest gratitude to KCPD’s Community Interaction Officer Paul Burkhalter, retired. He took his oath to protect and serve to an extraordinary level and afforded our family the blessing of many more years with Mary.

Burial service will take place at Leavenworth National Cemetery on Tuesday, February 28 at 11am. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the All Secure Foundation (https://allsecurefoundation.org), the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (https://alzfdn.org), or to the charity of your choice. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.dwnwhitechapel.com for the Archer family.