Remembering our friend Arch

In 2008, a talented 16 year old was fighting it out on a national stage to become the youngest contestant to ever win American Idol. His first name David was easy enough, but that last name, Archuleta, was unusual. In our community of finishers we all knew how to pronounce the name because at the exact same time, an equally talented although older man also named David Archuleta, (affectionately known as “Arch”) was fighting a much more private battle right here in Kansas City.

We met Arch years before when he came in with another local decorative artist and his close friend Heather McDonald (profiled in The Age of Elegance). Good natured and quiet, you might miss the mischievous twinkle in his eyes at first, but hang out with him for awhile and the witty Arch soon came out. Devoted to pursuing excellence in painting, whether it was trim work or a major plaster project, Arch was a big believer in continuing education and often traveled to study with master decorative finishing instructors. He was the rare student that was content to be quiet and really focus on what an instructor was showing him; happy and honored to have his work critiqued so that he could become the best artist possible.

Arch was one of several local artists that participated in a photo shoot we held at Surfaces in October of 2007. Our ad campaign highlighted groups of talented local finishers with a link to their individual web sites, and Arch was in the first featured group. During the day Arch shared with me problems he was having with balance and feeling a little “off,” but he was his usual happy self so I didn’t think much about it, and no one noticed anything was wrong. A few weeks later he called to share with me a story, and I could feel him blush over the phone when he got to the punch line, afraid that his sweet funny tale would offend me. I laughed and told him how much I enjoyed knowing him. And that was the last time I talked with Arch before he became sick.

Heather called us many weeks later to let us know that Arch had a brain tumor, and his outlook was not good. He was scheduled for surgery, but his doctors didn’t know if or how much of the tumor could be removed. Concerned for his health and financial situation, Heather organized finishers willing to complete jobs Arch had on the books so he could collect the much needed income. Plus Arch, the consummate professional, would never want to leave a job unfinished. So those of us that could, sanded and enameled trim (to his exacting standards) or plastered walls or just painted. Heather organized a group of 11 finishers into teams that glazed the entire main level ceiling of a home in a single day. One thing I’ve always said about our finishers here in Kansas City is that when one of our own needs help, they will step up to work. Although the reason was sad, we had a sense of fellowship and fun working together.

It was determined that nothing medically could be done to cure Arch and he was moved to an assisted care facility by January 2008. Heather continued her support by contacting finishers about buying Arch’s extra products or helping to move items from his home. We have Arch’s large easel on wheels and his home show fireplace in our studio to this day. Heather carefully selected his most beautiful samples boards to decorate his room causing the staff to admire his talents and wonder in disbelief how that wonderful wood or marble could possibly be paint on a plastic board.

Bruce and I went to visit Arch on a Thursday afternoon, and I walked by at first because I didn’t recognize him. How could someone look both so old and so young at the same time? He was sitting with his family and at first didn’t seem to recognize us either. After a few minutes though, he turned to his Mom and said, “They have a 6,000 square foot studio in Lenexa where they teach classes and sell product.” Just like our ads. And with that he was back-the Arch that we had known for over five years. We had a nice visit and talked about his family and the support he had from his church; they were coming that weekend for a social with him. When we left that night we promised Arch that we would come back next week with some of his faux finishing friends that wanted to visit if he felt up to it. He said he did and looked forward to it although he got tired easily. So we gave our friend a hug and left.

On Monday, Heather called to let us know that Arch had passed away. Sadly, our next get-together for Arch was to attend his funeral, where many finishers came to pay their respects to a friend and colleague. A slide show played during the service that had several pictures of Arch painting and his lovely work, but what I remember most is the shot of him on his beloved motorcycle with his voice gleefully saying what I thought was “I’m free.” I don’t know if that is what he was really saying, but in my mind Arch will always be gliding down a road feeling free. We miss you Arch. Thanks for making our homes more beautiful and our lives brighter.

To honor Arch, we have a scholarship in his name that covers partial tuition cost for Designer Walls One. The scholarship is for professional finishers and is based on a desire to excel at decorative finishing and to establish a successful business in the field of faux finishing.

WRITTEN BY: REBECCA SLATON

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