Helen Marie Archer

Helen Marie Thomas Archer, 83, of Salem, Va., formerly of Meadows of Dan, Va., went to be with the Lord on Tuesday, April 30, 2024, at her home. She was born on February 22, 1941, to the late Fannie Elizabeth McAlexander Thomas and Joseph P. Thomas in Meadows of Dan, Va. Helen was a hairdresser and cosmetologist, and spent her career making her clients beautiful! She enjoyed music, ceramics, gardening, and cooking for her family and friends. Helen placed her trust in our Lord and Savior and attended West Salem Baptist Church and Community Fellowship Church. In addition to her parents, she is preceded in death by her Paternal grandparents, Harvey and Mary Sue Thomas; maternal grandparents, John and Cora Williams McAlexander; brother, Joseph Bruce Thomas; son, James Stevenson Archer; and her husband, Harrison McTeer Archer, Jr.

Those left to cherish her memory include her daughter, Penny Jo Gardner; grandchildren, Elizabeth Rain Gardner and Michael Scott Gardner; sister, Betty Jo Wilson; numerous aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins; special friend, Robert Hunt; and fur babies, Bell Bell and Winston. She loved you all.

A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at the John M. Oakey & Son Funeral Home in Salem, with Pastor Melton Johnson officiating. Burial will follow at 4 p.m. at the McAlexander Family Cemetery in Meadows, Va.

Friends may visit with the family from 10 a.m. until the hour of the service at the funeral home.

Online condolences may be expressed at www.johnmoakey.com.