Joshua "Josh" Ian Porter

Oct 26, 2016 at 12:00AM updated at 4:20PM

Friends and family of Josh Porter paint him as an adventure-seeking man who loved working with his hands and was well-loved by anyone who knew him.

Porter, 41, of Kirkland, died on Oct. 18 when his motorcycle struck a car as it turned on to NE 70th Avenue. He was a father of two girls, age 12 and 20, and a recent grandfather.

"From the time he was little, he loved to go fast," said Sharon Nielsen, Porter's mother. "That was him. He loved being outside, and he recently got to jump out of an airplane. That was one of the things on his list."

Porter was born on the East Coast before moving to the Seattle area with Nielsen when he was 14 months old. He spent his most of his youth in Bellevue and was living with his girlfriend, Cecily Dunn, in Kirkland at the time of his death.

Porter attended Sammamish High School, and made a career in the home improvement and building supply industries.

"From the time he could pick up a crayon, he would draw with anything on anything," Nielsen said. "His artistic ability, he gets from his father. He was so talented, just so talented, but he loved working with his hands and loved working around wood — always did."

Porter was also an avid hiker and photographer, and recently conquered the Kalalau Trail on the coast of the Hawaiian island of Kawai.

Nielsen said the family has struggled to find a venue large enough for his memorial service, which is tentatively scheduled for Nov. 12 at Story Church in Bothell.

"He had many good friends, seeming to make a friend of everyone he met," said his uncle Brandon Heller. "He had a good sense of humor, and was known to be the life of the party."

A memorial Facebook page, Josh Porter Memorial Site, has been established to help friends and family connect to share memories and photos.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/333365443689582/

Porter is also survived by his father, Howard Porter, and brothers Jamie Smith and Simon Porter.

JOHN WILLIAM HOWARD, Kirkland Reporter Staff Writer

[email protected] or 425-242-4361

Josh, we love you beyond words...nothing would be more meaningful than to remember each moment with you.

I'd like the memory of me

To be a happy one.

I'd like to leave an afterglow

Of smiles

When life is done.

I'd like to leave an echo whispering

Softly down the ways.

Of happy times and laughing times

And bright sunny days.

I'd like the tears of those who grieve,

To dry before the sun

Of happy memories that I leave

When life is done.

~Helen Lowrie Marshall~

A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 12PM on Saturday, November 12, 2016 at My Story Church, 20618 Filbert Drive, Bothell, Washington 98012.

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Luke Shaff, Posted on Facebook October 26, 2016 at 3:00PM - To all of the friends, family and loved ones of Josh Porter, It is a terrible and tragic thing that has happened to our Friend. My personal take on Josh and the way he lived is that without fault if the man said he had your back, then damn it, he had your back. It seemed like that he never had 2 quarters to rub together, but if you needed a buck, he'd go out of his way to give you those 2 and the jacket off his back, doing it with a smile and grin on his face. Josh worked hard, loved his family and played free and always doing the best he could with what he had. Even though it hurts thinking that we have lost someone, that isn't true, We ALL have gained an Angel in heaven that we can call Friend. ~Luke.

MOMENTS IN HISTORY (1975 - 2016) - When Joshua "Josh" was young, • The average annual salary was $12,513 (1980) • The cost of a gallon of regular gas was $1.38 (1981) • The average home cost $69,300 (1982) • The Washington Redskins won their first Super Bowl title defeating the Miami Dolphins 27-17 (1983) • The Ford Tempo was first produced offering a modern, more fuel-efficient option for consumers (1984) • Expo '86 opened in Vancouver (1986) • The average home cost $120,000 (1989) • Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center was found not guilty of displaying obscene material for the Robert Mapplethorpe Exhibit (1990) • The XVI Olympic Winter Games were held in Albertville, France with Germany winning the most medals (1992) • Great Britain and France were connected by the Channel Tunnel (1994) In his twenties, • Yahoo!, the first internet search engine service, was founded (1995) • Steve Fosset became the first person to fly solo in a hot air balloon across the Pacific Ocean (1995) • AOL bought Time Warner for $162 billion (2000) • The price of a U.S. Postal Stamp was $0.37 (2002) • Peter O'Toole received an Honorary Oscar for providing film with some of its most memorable characters (2003) In his thirties, • Angela Merkel became the first female Chancellor of Germany (2005) • The world's tallest living tree, a coast redwood at 379.3 feet, was discovered in Redwood National Park (2006) • The final Harry Potter book was released (2007) • Joel Coen and Ethan Coen won an Academy Award for Best Director for No Country for Old Men (2008) • Reality television is at an all time high in cultural popularity, his has even carried over into politics. The scripted reality series "Trump vs. Clinton Debate" has actually pulled ratings from the viewership of "Keeping up with the Kardashians" and is the most impactful nonsensical TV programming to air. We could have used one more level headed man to control this downward slide (2016)