In 1974, Demby Annex was named after Carl "Archie" Demby, a well- known figure in Medford Lakes, N.J. Mr. Demby worked as a maintenance for the borough of Medford Lakes beginning in 1927. From 1935 until about 1972 he was a regular maintenance man at the Medford Lakes Colony, the association of residents of the borough.
Demby Annex was dedicated to Carl at a special ceremony in 1974 after the annex had been built to house the association's offices.
Mildred Jacoby, office manager at the Colony until 1976, said Demby "was dedicated and devoted to the residents of Medford Lakes. He was liked by everyone and knew all the old, old timers, some who are dead now."
On his 76th birthday, Demby was the guest of honor at the club's annual President's Ball. After spending his boyhood in Bryn Mawr, Montgomery County, Demby would recall for friends what life was like on the Main Line in its heyday. His father was the coachman for Philadelphia millionaire-philanthropist Archie R. Montgomery.
"I'm afraid people today just don't understand the position of what they called 'servants' then," he said. "We had our jobs to do and we were respected for it. I have spent my life working for people who are my friends."
Mr. Demby moved to Pennsauken when he was about 15, then to Medford. "He was as elated and proud as a man could be when they named that building for him," said his wife, Martha." He saw the Lakes grow, and everyone remembers him for his sense of humor and being a clean- living man who was a Christian and a devoted father and husband."
Mr. Demby was still working as a handyman until about five years before his death in 1982 when he retired to tend his garden and follow football. He loved to watch the sport on television, she said, and to follow the team at Rancocas Valley High School in Mount Holly, where his son John coached. He was a member of Calvary Baptist Church, Merchantville.
Today Mr. Demby is survived by two daughters, Marjorie E. Smith and Ethel A. Debnam; 23 grandchildren; and 15 great- grandchildren.
Medford Lakes Colony will always remember Mr. Demby fondly!