On Saturday, July 27, Richard Irving
Porter left the world as we know it, but will forever
live on in our hearts and memories of
him and the life he shared with us all.
Richard was born Feb. 14, 1955 to
Irving and Alice (Edgmon) Porter in Santa Barbara,
Calif. He is survived by his wife
Heather, son Kyle, brothers Stephen Porter, Michael Porter
and sister Linda Garcia, grandchildren
Matthew and Jessica McCarthy and numerous
nephews, nieces, friends and loved
ones. He was preceded in death by his parents Alice
and Irving and step-daughter Sheri
Taylor.
Richard grew up in Santa Barbara and
Bakersfield. Growing up, he was very active and
participated in many things such as
archery, ballroom dancing, competitive dance roller
skating, Boy Scouts, karate, baseball,
go carts, a bowling league and much more. He
lived in California most of his life
and moved to Oregon in the early 1980s.
Richard was an electrician for many
years, working in the oil fields of California, a refinery in Nevada
and on an oil rig in Alaska. He was an
investor and bought and flipped many homes. He
owned several business of his own,
including a clothing store, a painting company, a
janitorial business, and a mortgage
company. Richard was a handy man and could pretty
much fix or build anything. He was a
hard worker, was dedicated and put forth his best
effort in everything he did.
Richard enjoyed attending OSU football
games and tailgating. He loved the outdoors and
spent many days with his wife and son
camping, exploring the local rivers and lakes. He
enjoyed boating, hunting, camping,
fishing and most of all spending time with his family.
He was friendly and happy, had a heart
of gold and would help out.
Richard met Heather Rinehart in 2003
and they married in 2005, and in 2007 welcomed
the joy and pride of his life, his son
Kyle Wendell Porter.
Richard was a wonderful father and
husband. He was kind, patient, loving, caring, fun to be around,
strong and protecting. He put his family above all else and did the
things he did so that they could
enjoy life and make many memories
together. Richard had a love for his wife and son
that will forever live on in the many
memories, photos, videos, experiences and things
they did together. He lived to make
every day and moment count. Richard will be missed
more than words can describe. He
touched many lives and will live on in our memories,
through the life he and his wife
created together and the generous contributions he was
able to provide through his passing as
being a donor.
A celebration of life for Richard will
be held on Friday, Aug. 9, at 2 p.m. at Harvest
Christian Center 4231 Long St. Sweet
Home.
Please come and help the family
celebrate the life of a wonderful man and support the grieving during
this time. In lieu of flowers, a Richard Porter memorial fund has
been established at Umpqua Bank, 1890 Main St., Sweet Home OR 97386,
for those who wish to support the family with
expenses.