Dane Archer, Emeritus Professor of Sociology and Psychology at the University of California, died on December 16, 2016 in Santa Cruz, California, in the home he loved, surrounded by the family and friends who loved and cared for him.
Dane was born December 4th 1946 in Sharon CT, to Jules and Eleanor Archer and grew up in Pine Plains, NY. He is survived by his beloved and cherished wife Marina, her children Theo (whom he called his son and was closest to), Iris, Daniel, Daphne, and their grandchildren; his intrepid brother Mike (and wife Sue) of Sydney, Australia, his eclectic brother Kerry (and wife Maureen) of Peoria, Arizona, and all their children and grandchildren. Dane was predeceased in death by his mother Len (1976), his father Jules (2008), his close friends John Kitsuse (2003) and Ron Gonzales (2012). He is also survived by his dear and close friend Forrest Robinson (and wife Colleen), and by Dane’s three sons from a previous marriage, Zach, Nate, and Cam.
Dane graduated from Yale (1968) and Harvard (PhD, 1972) and taught at the University of California, Santa Cruz, from 1972 to 2007. Thousands of students adored him and benefited from his visionary mentorship. An avid cyclist, basketball player, hiker, carpenter and builder, Dane was a very creative man of both physical and mental prowess, brimming with original ideas and inexhaustible curiosity. His wit, his depth, and his sense of humor will remain legendary. Dane was a fiercely private man about his personal life, but those who were his close friends and loved ones knew him as he was: a proud, funny, brilliant, loyal, one-of-a-kind man, and most of all, an extraordinary human being. He leaves a legacy of kindness, civility, compassion and courage in the face of adversity, coupled with an unsinkable belief in fairness, civil disobedience, and the individual’s right to freedom in life and love.
A personal website will be created in his memory to celebrate his life, his passion for research and teaching, his many accomplishments, and his outstanding contributions to the field of social science.
Those who wish can make donations in his memory to The Michael J. Fox Foundation
. For personal condolences, please call 831-454-8827.
