Joseph H. Porter

Warwick Joseph H. Porter, 93, died Sunday, August 19, 2012, at Coventry Skilled Nursing & Rehabilitation Center. He was the husband of the late Margaret M. (Morris) Porter. He and his family resided in Warwick for many years before moving to Jamestown. For the past 12 years, he resided at Sparrows Point on Hardig Road, Warwick. He was born in Providence, on March 24, 1919, to the late state Rep. Joseph H. Porter and Anna M. (McDonnell) Porter. Porter was a veteran of World War II. He served in the Navy aboard the aircraft carrier Chenango for three years as a chief petty officer. He saw duty in the Pacific and Atlantic and received 12 battle stars. He operated Porter's Meat Market in Warwick from 1947 to 1950. He retired from his sales manager post at Roberts Paper Company in Lincoln in 1981 after working for the company 31 years. He was the past president and honorary member of the Jamestown Rotary Club and a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 9447 of Jamestown. He also was a member of Woodland Greens Golf Course in North Kingstown. He was a member of the Rhode Island Golf Association for 60 years and retired as golf pro at the Jamestown Golf Club. He was also a voluntary committee member of Porter Recreation Field improvement group in Warwick and a member of the Rhode Island Beagle Club, Warwick. Porter was named Warwick CYO Man of the Year in 1959. He coached CYO basketball at St. William Church in Warwick for more than 20 years. He served as Warwick CYO Lay Director from 1961 to 1963; Warwick chairman of a Cerebral Palsey fund drive in 1963 and won an award for outstanding results. He participated in golf and basketball in Warwick and Jamestown for many years, winning city and state championships in each sport. He is survived by three sons, Joseph H. Porter Jr. and his wife Louise, Peter Porter and his wife Marion Hague, and Christopher Porter and his wife Kimberly; two daughters, Pamela Podgorski and her husband Robert, and Teresa Smith and her husband David; 12 loving grandchildren, and 19 loving great grandchildren. He was a brother of the late William Porter, Robert Porter, Mildred E. Day, Marion Day, and Dorothy Austin. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Friday at 10 a.m. in St. Gregory the Great Church, 360 Cowesett Road, Warwick to which relatives and friends are invited. Burial with military honors will be in Rhode Island Veterans Cemetery, Exeter. Visiting hours are respectfully omitted. In lieu of flowers, donations to, V.N.A. of Care New England, 51 Health Lane, Warwick, RI 02886 in his memory will be appreciated.