Aug. 9, 1929 – Feb. 23, 2018
Harley Frank ‘Pete” Porter passed from this life into the loving arms of his Savior, Jesus Christ, on Feb. 23, 2018, at 88½ years of age.
He was born Aug. 9, 1929 in Spokane, Wash., to Frank and Elsie (Greenup) Porter. Pete was the last of 11 siblings, nine of which survived to adulthood: Vern, Mel, Harriet, Dave, Grace, Violet, June, and Marjorie.
When Pete was around 5 years old, he moved with his parents and the two youngest of his sisters to the Salem, Oregon area, where Pete began ele-mentary school.
They lived in a couple of towns in Marion County before moving to Garibaldi, on the Oregon coast, when Pete was in the seventh grade.
Pete finished elementary school there and graduated from Garibaldi High School in 1949. During high school Pete enjoyed journalism and sports, playing on the football and basketball teams. His passions for sports and journalism remained with him throughout his life.
After graduation Pete began working for Ore-gon Washington Plywood Co. in Garibaldi. When the war broke out in Korea, Pete was drafted. He served in the U.S. Army from Oct. 18, 1950 until Sept. 24, 1952, spending time in both Japan and Korea.
Upon his return to Garibaldi, Pete returned to his employment at Oregon Washington Plywood Co. By the time the plywood mill closed in 1974, Pete had 26 years of seniority as a woodworker including credit for his time in the military.
Pete married Ruth Blakely on Feb. 15, 1958, and they were married for almost 57 years. They had two children, Valerie and John. The family lived in Garibaldi until 1976, when they relocated to Albany.
Pete attended Linn-Benton Community College, and graduated in 1978 with an associate’s degree in graphic communications. He was a naturally gifted writer who had written in high school and covered north Tillamook County sports for the local newspaper while living in Garibaldi and had a few articles published in magazines.
While attending LBCC, he worked on The Commuter student newspaper.
Following his graduation, he worked for 16 years as a writer at The New Era newspaper in Sweet Home, covering sports, education and religion. To say that Pete loved his job was an understatement. Ruth often said that he would have worked for free.
The community of Sweet Home rewarded him for his commitment and dedication.
In 1980 they held Pete Porter Day.
When he retired in 1995, there was a memorable retirement party, and following his retirement, he was honored as grand marshal of the Sportsman’s Holiday Parade.
During those years working at The New Era, Pete received several awards for his writing in competitions for newspaper writers.
After retirement, Pete and Ruth traveled to Hawaii and took a cruise with stops in Tampa, Fla., the Grand Cayman, and Cozumel, Mexico.
They made several road trips with Valerie to visit family and with the senior group at church. They also became regular members of the Write Your Life Story class at LBCC over the course of many years.
While living in Garibaldi, Pete and his wife were faithful members of the Garibaldi Assembly of God church. Pete taught the adult Sunday School class, had a nursing home ministry, and filled many other volunteer roles at the church.
For the majority of their residence in Albany, Pete and Ruth were members and faithful attendees of the First Assembly of God.
Pete is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Valerie and David Snider, his son’s widow, Keely Porter, nieces, nephews and other extended family.
He was preceded in death by his wife Ruth, his son John, his parents, his siblings, and other extended family.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 17, at Hope Church, 2817 Santiam Highway, S.E., Albany. A reception will follow.