Letter from a Family Member….

How do I put into words a lifetime of memories and moments that make up who and what he was? Arcadio “Archie” Duran was a special kind of person. Our Mom often tells the story of how Archie was not your ordinary toddler, Archie always wanted to run free. So free that on several occasions, he broke the bars off his crib in order to be free to run around, play and enjoy his surroundings. It makes sense that he would enjoy sports so much as it allowed him to run free and enjoy the outdoors.

Archie began playing football and baseball at the young age of 8. He attended Lee Elementary, Magoffin Middle School and went on to graduate from Irvin High School in 1988. While at Magoffin Middle School, Archie joined the football and track teams. Excelling as a student and athlete. As a student at Magoffin, our brother Manny remembers how Archie would see fellow students struggling with their homework and would jump in to help. Other times, unbeknownst to anyone, Archie would use his own money to buy lunch tickets for classmates who didn’t have money to purchase their own lunch.

Archie never talked about it but his younger brother noticed that Archie was not only role model to him but to other classmates as well. Archie’s generosity and selflessness were his natural values. That was Archie from a young age, he was grounded in his convictions, believing that the right thing to do was to help and stand up for others.

As an educator and coach, Archie continued to be a helping hand and a mentor, especially in the student’s time of need. He oftened went out of is way to provide a meal, a motivating talk, or a kind word to his students. It was in his heart to continue to help students in need and Archie had a long-term plan to do more for them. Knowing this, we decided to honor our brother through the memorial fund. We continue to honor his memory by providing first year college scholarships, and more to those who need it most.