Archie was born and raised in Walla Walla, Washington. After graduating from Walla Walla High School in 1949, Archie left home and worked running freight for the Santa Fe Railroad in San Bernardino. In 1951 he joined the Army and was stationed on a tugboat in Yokohama, Japan for the duration of the Korean War. After the war, Archie attended college on the GI Bill and graduated from Lewis and Clark College. He married his first wife, Beth, and moved to the Seattle area, eventually starting the A.D. Reid Company (later A.D. Reid Northwest). In 1974 he married Connie Kingman.
Archie loved his work and was a natural at building relationships, always making friends before making deals. He also was fond of taking long drives throughout the state, telling stories, playing bridge, spoiling dogs and cats, and continually meeting new people.
He is loved and survived by his children, Kathy and Rick, and his stepdaughters, Kathryn, Rosalie, Grace, and Laura, as well as his many grandchildren.
He will be interred at Tahoma National Cemetery.