Obituary of Sanford Leslie Archibald
Sanford (Sandy) Leslie Archibald, age 74, passed away unexpectedly October 15, 2018 in Valley Regional Hospital. Sandy was born in New York City in 1943 to parents Sanford (Barney) Archibald and Jean Brittian. Sandy will be lovingly remembered by his wife Hilda Dukshire Archibald, and sisters Dianne and Heather (Norm). Sandy was predeceased by his brother George Archibald. He leaves his children Elizabeth (Andrew), James, Ian (Rebecca), Scott, Tammy (Andrew), Amanda (Tim), and Stephanie (Randy). Sandy will be fondly remembered by his 8 grandchildren Lucas, Samuel, Thomas, Sierra, Gabriel, Benjamin, Owen, Mason, and other relatives and friends.
He attended McGill University where he studied Chemistry and was a member of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity. Sandy then worked at Allied Chemical in New Jersey and New York, moving with his family to Nova Scotia in 1971 and joined United Elastic Limited. He worked for a few years at Kent Homes in Debert before re-joining United Elastic in 1977 as managing director.
Sandy thrived as an entrepreneur which can be exemplified in his life achievements.
Sandy’s greatest passion was leading people to success. He formed Britex in Bridgetown, Nova Scotia. As the general manager, Sandy led a management/employee buyout to prevent closure of the textile factory. His conviction, that the plant could be turned around by creating a sense of common purpose among all and innovation in product and production methods proved successful. The company thrived. Sandy was featured in the book The New Entrepreneurs 80 Canadian success stories by Allan Gould.
The company grew significantly and in its first year won the Nova Scotia Export Achievement Award and it made the finals in the federal government’s Canada Awards for Excellence in Productivity, Innovation and Design. Sandy gave guest lectures on the company’s transformation at Acadia University’s Business School and Britex was named one of the 100 best small companies to work for in Canada.
Sandy served on the boards of numerous organizations including the Canadian Textile Institute, Northern Textile Association, Canadian Manufacturing Association, Textiles Human Resources Canada and the Textile Advisory Board for NAFTA. Sandy was a shareholder and Board Member of Precision Biological and Orion Electronics. He was also involved in starting several other Nova Scotia companies. Sandy’s lingering motto: “Treat everybody equally, fairly, and with respect”, survives in his children, business partners, and friends alike.
Sandy was renowned for his hospitality and cooking skills. Sandy loved sailing and his dogs. He enjoyed puzzles, crossword, and reading. Sandy was thoroughly interested in Canadian and American politics and enjoyed sharing his thoughts and opinions. Most important to Sandy was time spent with his family.
A celebration of Sandy’s life will be held on Saturday October 20th at 2pm at St. George & St. Andrew United Church, 393 St. George Street Annapolis Royal with Reverend Elisabeth Bachem officiating. Reception will follow. Interment at a later date. In lieu of flowers please make donations to the Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia or to the charity of your choice in Sandy’s name. Online condolences may be sent to www.kaulbachfamilyfuneralhome.com