A graveside memorial service and burial of ashes for Charles “Charlie” D. Porter, 83, will take place Sunday, June 21, at 1 p.m. at Rolling Prairie Cemetery with Pastor Dorothy Jones officiating.
Charlie, formerly of Rolling Prairie, IN, died Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2015, at his home in Cicero, IN, following an eight-month illness.
He was born Oct. 20, 1931, to Burl and Pauline Porter.
Charlie graduated from Rolling Prairie High School. He was a maintenance employee for the Indiana East-West Toll Road for 10 years. He worked for GTE for nearly 30 years, retiring in 1996. He later worked for Indiana Paging in Michigan City, IN, and Manpower in LaPorte. He was a Past Master of Rolling Prairie Lodge 291 F&AM, and a volunteer fireman with the Kankakee Township Volunteer Fire Department. He was the lodge secretary for 14 years and secretary-treasurer of the fire department for nearly 20 years. He was a volunteer usher at the Morris Performing Arts Center in South Bend, IN, for 14 years and served as a Boy Scout leader for Troop 353, Rolling Prairie, for almost 30 years. His proudest moments were when both sons became Eagle Scouts – the highest rank in Scouting.
Charlie and his wife were volunteers at Leighton Center for Seniors, South Bend, IN, where they also served on a Sage-ing Council and were trained as facilitators for several programs, leading classes for Leighton Center visitors. Charlie was involved in the center’s efforts to make legal in Indiana “Five Wishes,” a document to assist patients in dying with dignity. During his life, Charlie suffered a number of serious health issues, including a massive heart attack. Leighton Center invited him to speak about his experiences before a gathering of 400 employees of Memorial Hospital and he astonished even himself by doing a superb job.
On Nov. 4, 1951, in Rolling Prairie, he married Marcia Jones. The couple lived in Rolling Prairie for 50 years before moving to Cicero to be nearer their sons.
Charlie is survived by his wife, Marcia; his daughter, Susan Sims of Woodstock, GA; two sons, Timothy of Bloomington, IN, and Matthew of Noblesville, IN; two grandchildren, Sarah and Luke Porter; sister, Patricia of Detroit Lakes, MI; and brothers, Kenneth of LaPorte, Paul of Fort Wayne, IN, and Thomas of Columbia, TN.
Charlie was preceded in death by his parents; brother, John Porter Sr., and nephew, John Porter Jr.
The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations in Charlie’s honor be made to the American Heart Association at http://honor.americanheart.org/site/TR?pxfid=273642&fr_id=1030&pg=fund&et=SgTsd6wvXQ7LK_ap7-BmAw&s_tafId=1061
Messages of condolence may be posted below on WNLP, as well as at www.haverstockfuneralhome.com.
