11:14pm: One Of A Kind
Capt. Arch McEwan
(Click to Enlarge)
We lost a dear friend and great man this month, when Arch McEwan passed away on August 21, in his birthplace of Greenock, Scotland. Archie was my best friend Duncan's father, and I have known him nearly as long as I've known my pal, which is going on 23 years. I have known many people in my day, and none was as unique and magnificent as the man we all called Archie. A thinking man's man, with a rare intellect, keen sense of humor, and energetic spirit, Archie McEwan was the patriarch of one of the great families I have known. It was always an honor to call him my friend; it is an honor, now, to remember him.
Those of you who know Duncan but haven't had the pleasure of meeting the rest of his clan can well imagine the kind of family he comes from, for you will agree he is among the rarest of individuals. Even if you have only seen him perform on stage you have been privy to the keen intellect and quick wit that is as much a part of his personality as his kindred spirit and easy manner. And when you met Archie, you found out why, for here was a man who possessed equal measures of intelligence and humor, cunning and compassion, a man with a quick wit, and quicker smile. He was a patriarch in the truest sense of the world: he and his lovely wife Maria brought children into the world, John, James, and Bob, nurtured and raised them, instilled in them morals and values, and gave them love. It was always such a great pleasure to watch this family just being a family, the humor and good nature, the caring and compassion, that is born only of a deep-seated sense of belonging, of family.
The first time I met Archie was in a yellow cab on the way to court. I was waiting at the corner for Dunc to pick me up, he'd just retrieved his folks from the airport and we were on our way to testify at an arbitration proceeding that turned into a merry-go-round of an application for an injunction at Supreme Court, but that is another story. I step into the back seat of the cab and there is Duncan in the front seat and Archie in the middle with Maria beside him. Duncan is leaning over the seat introducing us, and I am trying to make a good impression on my pal's parents, here, who I'm meeting for the first time on our way to a very important legal proceeding, when Duncan says "give it to him, do you have it?" Well, Archie pulls a plastic shopping bag from the briefcase on his lap and hands it to me.
"This is from Bob," he says, and I had no way of appreciating his inuendo at that moment. I opened the bag and pulled out a tattered football jersey, white with royal blue numbers on front and back, number "22."
"What's this?" I said, quite dumbfounded.
"It's Bob Hayes's practice jersey," Dunc said from the front seat.
I looked at Archie, who was smiling at me, that big, friendly, toothy grin that was his trademark.
"Are you kidding?" I said to Archie.
"Bob asked me to bring it, he wants you to have it," Archie said, smiling away.
Of course, he meant his son Bob, whom we all call Duncan. And it was true, it was Bob Hayes's practice jersey from the Dallas Cowboys, a gift to Dunc from the fastest man on earth back in the days when Archie was the State Department Attache to Peru and Bob Hayes was on a good will tour of the country. It still is, and I still have it.
But talk about your "hello, glad to meet you." I know it was a gift from Duncan, but whenever I see that jersey, pull it out of my drawer and pull it over my shoulders, I remember Archie extracting it from his briefcase in the back seat of a yellow cab at the moment I met him for the very first time. We were in a hurry to get to a very important legal proceeding, in a crowded cab on a gridlocked city street, and here is Arch McEwan bearing gifts, and of the most memorable kind. I don't think anyone could ever top that introduction; that is how I met Archie, and every time I saw him it only got better. He was a wonderful spirit, one bright and shining jewel in a tedious drawer full of rhinestones.
Archie was 82, and there isn't one of us who wasn't convinced he wouldn't live to be a hundred. He didn't, of course, but if he had to leave us, we are happy he was able to take his leave peacefully. He was visiting his homeland and birthplace, Greenock, Scotland, with his wife Maria and his two younger boys, Duncan and James. He'd spent the day seeing his hometown, the house he grew up in, the church he attended, and passed quietly in his sleep during the night.
Archie was so proud of his boys, you could see the gleam in his eye whenever he came up to the city for one of Duncan's gigs. I know his family is proud of him, of the man he was, and the legacy he leaves behind. We will miss you, Arch, and you will be with us always. Let's go sailing out on Barrow Bay.
Click "More..." for Washington Post Article on USN Capt. Archibald John McEwan:
McEWAN, ARCHIBALD JOHN, CAPT USN (Ret.) (age 82)
Of Alexandria, VA, died on August 21, 2002 during a visit, with his family, to his birthplace of Greenock, Scotland. After immigrating to America in 1927, Captain McEwan graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School, went on to the College of the City of New York and earned a Masters in Electrical Engineering from the US Naval Academy Post Graduate School. He holds 3 patents for facilitating aircraft landing on carriers.
Serving first as a World War II naval aviator, Captain McEwan later represented the Joint Chiefs of Staff as Chairman of the US Delegation to NATO and served as Chief of Research on numerous arms control and disarmament projects. Subsequent tours included diplomatic service in Argentina, Paraguay, and Peru as Naval and Defense Attaché. He retired from the United States Navy in 1972. Captain McEwan received numerous commendations, including the Legion of Merit as well as foreign awards, including the Naval Order of Merit (Peruvian Cross). Upon returning to Virginia, Captain McEwan helped form Technology Advancement Group, a high-tech tactical computer company specializing in military and intelligence applications.
Captain McEwan is survived by his beloved wife of 50 years, Maria Luisa of Santurce, Puerto Rico; three sons, John Arthur, James Stewart and Robert Duncan, five grandchildren, three sisters and one brother.
A memorial service will be held on Thursday, September 5, 2002 at Bethany Lutheran Church, 2501 Beacon Hill Rd, Alexandria. A reception following the service will be held at Belle Haven Country Club.
Interment will be Monday, October 7, 2002, 11am at Arlington National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family is asking for donations in memory of Captain A. J. McEwan to be sent to the US Navy Memorial Foundation, 701 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Suite 123, Washington DC, 20004-2608.
Posted by cronish at September 04, 2002 12:52 AM