PORT TOWNSEND — If there’s something wrong that bothers you, don’t wait for someone else to fix it. That was the mantra Nora Porter lived by.
Porter, Port Townsend resident, died of lung cancer Oct. 31 at the age of 75, leaving behind a list of accomplishments that range from a waterfront park to a state park building.
On Saturday, friends and family gathered at Fort Worden Commons, which Porter worked to build, to pay their respects to a woman who was known as a passionate community advocate.
“She hated it when people complained about a problem and then said, ‘but there’s nothing I can do about it,’” said her son, Kyle Porter. “She was living proof that that wasn’t true.”
Kyle, who lives in Amsterdam, was the one of the main speakers at the memorial for Porter.
The first was retired state Rep. Lynn Kessler, who hired Porter to run her office when she first went to Olympia at the beginning of her 18-year career, which included 12 years as House majority leader.
Widowed at the age of 52, Porter was a Peninsula Community College trustee when she met Kessler.
The Hoquiam Democrat asked Porter for help with her initial campaign for a 24th District seat.
When Kessler was elected to represent the district that includes the North Olympic Peninsula, she hired Porter to work for her in Olympia.
After returning to Port Townsend, Porter used her political savvy as a member of the Fort Worden Advisory Committee to support efforts to build the Commons, a replacement for the old mess hall, and fight entrance fees at state parks.
Steamed over gate fee
Kessler recalled how steamed Porter got over the proposals to charge a $5 gate fee to enter Washington state parks.
“It was like her hair was on fire, and it was a fire that could be seen all the way from Alaska,” Kessler said. “She believed, and I believe, that state parks belong to everyone.”
Kessler said Porter could be bossy when marshaling for battle, putting on her warrior hat and issuing orders.
Night person
Porter was also not a morning person, friends said, staying up late and eating dinner when everyone else was asleep.
While she didn’t get up and see the sunrise, Porter did like to watch the moon rising over the bay, according to longtime friend and neighbor David Woodruff, who had attended their monthly full moon party two weeks before she died.
A political ally, Woodruff characterized Porter as a go-for-broke change agent who during her lifetime committed to one project after another.
“Nora could be critical, blunt and damned right most of the time,” Woodruff said.
Peter Badame, who introduced the speakers, recalled Porter’s reply when people asked her if she had lived in Port Townsend all her life — “Not yet.”
But she actually was born at Fort Lewis, where her father, Joseph Ryan, was stationed. That was Sept. 4, 1936.
The family moved several times before settling in Port Townsend, where Nora’s mother, Peggy Black Porter, was from, according to Sheila Kilmer, one of Porter’s sisters.
Oldest of five children
The oldest of five children, Nora graduated from Port Townsend High School in 1954 and worked summers at Chevy Chase Inn to earn money to attend Washington State University, according to a memoir by Porter displayed with family photos at the service.
After graduation, Porter taught school in Port Townsend and at the Fort Worden Youth Center.
She married Bob Porter, who worked at the paper mill.
At the memorial, Billie Hoglund, who now lives on Vashon Island, recalled theater productions and art classes Porter organized in the ’60s while they were raising their families.
Tom Yearian and Joe Wheeler Jr., who went to school with Kyle, spoke about how Porter always treated them like adults, asking their opinions on political issues.
“And then she would immediately shred them,” Wheeler said.
Cindy Thayer spoke about Porter’s and Jean Camfield’s efforts to create Adams Park to preserve the last piece of downtown waterfront.
Camfield listed the adventures she and Porter went on, including climbing Machu Pichu and rafting rivers.
Back home, they walked every day, picking up litter as they went, Camfield said.
“The Litter Ladies” were such a regular sight that people kept asking Judge Tom Majhan if he had sentenced the two women to community service.
“Someone sentenced Nora Porter to a lifetime of community service,” Camfield said.
Niece Meg Kilmer of Portland, Ore., talked about her aunt as a role model.
Phil Johnson, Jefferson County commissioner, told of Porter, who was his teacher in school, directing his campaign.
Habitat for Humanity
Joan Fabian, a volunteer at the Habitat for Humanity Furniture and More Store, talked about learning the fine points of retail display from Porter, who helped found the store and designed the displays.
Friend Monica MacGuire said Porter liked good design, and the use of bright colors with black and white.
“There were no shadows in her life,” MacGuire said.
All of Porter’s siblings attended the service except her brother Michael Ryan, who lives in Snohomish and was unable to attend.
Tom Wilson, a Seattle artist who organized the art scene in Port Townsend in the 1960s, and Paul Dunn, a former resident, were among the friends who came to say goodbye.
Memorials to Nora Porter can be sent to Habitat for Humanity, P.O. Box 658, Port Townsend, WA 98368.
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Jennifer Jackson is a freelance writer and photographer living in Port Townsend. To contact her, email jjackson@olypen.com.
