Raymond Archambeau (`82)

Raymond Archambeau of Bloomfield was taken off life support in early September, a week after the motorcycle he was driving crashed into a stopped car in Aztec. He was 55. According to the police report, the crash was caused by Archambeau’s low blood sugar; he was a diabetic.

Archambeau, an enrolled member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, had worked for the Public Defender’s Office in the 11th Judicial District for more than 10 years. He had just successfully defended a client only days before the Sept. 4 accident. During his legal career, he also worked as Farmington city attorney and as an assistant district attorney. He was a member of the UNM School of Law Class of 1982.

According to friends and colleagues, Archambeau dedicated his life to the law and to motorcycles. “If he couldn’t drive his motorcycle and practice law, he said he didn’t want to be around,” Christian Hatfield, San Juan County chief public defender, told the Farmington Times.

In fact, Archambeau had been in a few previous accidents on his motorcycle, one near Crownpoint that sent him to the hospital.

“He spent the majority of his adult life trying to help the people of San Juan County,” Hatfield also told the Times. “He was known and respected in all courtrooms, especially by the thousands of people he represented.”

October 24, 2012