‘Doc’ Richard Porter 1925 - 2010

[Grady Clay]

‘Doc’ Richard Porter 1925 - 2010

Richard F. Porter, M.D., 84
Posted: Friday, Sep 3rd, 2010

AURORA - Richard F. Porter, M.D., 84, of Alamosa, CO died on Friday, August 13, 2010 at University of Colorado Hospital Anschutz. Richard was born December 6, 1925 in Boston, Mass. to John M. Porter, M.D. and Mary Louise Brown Porter. He was raised in Concordia, KS., served in the U.S. Navy from 1944-1946 and was stationed at Harbor Master Communications, Yokusuka, Japan as ETM 2/c. Richard attended the University of Kansas and received his MD at Cornell University Medical School in New York. He served as a Community Rotating Intern at Denver General and Presbyterian Hospital in Denver, CO from 1953-1954 and attended the Radiology Residency Program at Presbyterian Hospital, Denver, CO from 1954-1957. Richard was employed as Radiologist in 1957-1958 in Loveland and Fort Collins, CO. From 1959-1969 he was self-employed as a Radiologist at Longmont, CO Community Hospital with a private office in Boulder and Longmont. From 1970-1991 he was a self-employed Radiologist for a time at Alamosa Community Hospital, Monte Vista Community Hospital, St. Joseph Hospital, Del Norte and Conejos County Hospital, La 3ara, CO. and retired in 1991.

His passions included climbing fourteeners, 4-wheeling, amateur racing, traveling, trains, RVing and reading. Over the years, he was active with PCA (Porsche Club of America) and SCCA (Sports Car Club of America) both nationally and regionally. He also participated with RMVR (Rocky Mountain Vintage Racing) and SWMS (Southwest Motorsports of Albuquerque).

Richard is survived by his life-partner of 27 years, Mary Jane Hopkinson; his sister Jean (Mykie) Porter Stanford of Escondido, CA; his daughter, Nancy Hill of Canon City and daughters Sarah Tosto of Missouri and Angela Hill of Fort Collins; his son, Michael Porter, wife Vicki of Budd Lake, NJ and sons Jake, David, Matthew and Andrew, and his daughter Pat Davenport, husband Dennis and son Joshua of St. Charles, MO. He is also survived by 4 great grandchildren and the 5th due in October and a few nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his wife and mother of his children, Ann Felton Porter.

Cremation was chosen and arrangements were made by the Monarch Society, Denver, CO 1-303-837-8712, monarchsociety.com

A gathering of family and friends to celebrate Richard’s life and to share memories and stories will be held at the Evergreen Conference Center, Evergreen, CO on Friday, September 17, 2010 from 2:30 p.m.-5 p.m. and at The Bridge at Alamosa on Saturday, September 18, 2010 at 2p.m. A private family memorial will be held in Kansas in the Spring.

Richard will be deeply missed.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the University of Colorado Cancer Center, Anschutz Medical Campus, 13001 E. 17th Place, Mail Stop F434, Aurora, CO 80045 or, the Alzheimer’s Association of Colorado, 455 Sherman Street, Suite 500, Denver, CO 80203, 1-800-272-3900 or the National Alzheimer’s Association or your state association.



Richard, I’ll see you in turn one someday.
911-to-911.
Until then my friend.

Best,
Grady

[NOLAsc]

My condolences, Grady. He sounds like a good man.

Shawn

[ratpiper71T]

May the Lord comfort you, you yours and his in you time of loss. My condolences also to you and his family.

Eric

[orcadigital]

Wonderful man and wonderful family. He will be greatly missed. Angela is still driving his old and now restored 914 at last check. It's amazing how these cars can unite so many generations of families...

Grant

[fbarrett]

Friends:

Doc was a truly friendly character with a genuine love for racing early 911s. I recall his Gulf blue and orange SWB car with LWB rear trailing arms--he didn't bother to modify the body, so it looked a little odd, but it ran well. He carried the car on an ancient rollback transporter, and he and Mary Jane often used an old camper at the track. Mary Jane, a good shoe herself, drove their old red '69 S Targa to a class win in the 2009 Parade autocross.

Instead of driving from Colorado to Washington, DC, for the 197? Parade, I flew, so Doc generously offered to let me drive his car in the time trial at Summit Point. I'd never driven the car or the track before, and just after the start, the shift knob fell off and was quickly rolling around on the floor. Luckily it didn't go behind the brake pedal.

After a really tough rally in Santa Fe, where we had a big argument, my wife Anne and I had decided not to rally together again; instead, Mary Jane and I teamed up, and Anne navigated for Doc. They whipped us soundly in the Parade rally and came in second in the SOP class! (The secret was that we couldn't yell at our new rally partners.) We both learned a lot about rallying from them. I still have a photo of Doc, Mary Jane, and Anne at the trophy presentation for the Parade rally.

Grady, I'll be out of town on the day of the Evergreen service, but I'll try to get back early to make it, and bring the photo.

Frank

[naparsei]

Originally Posted by fbarrett

Friends:

Doc was a truly friendly character with a genuine love for racing early 911s. I recall his Gulf blue and orange SWB car with LWB rear trailing arms--he didn't bother to modify the body, so it looked a little odd, but it ran well. He carried the car on an ancient rollback transporter, and he and Mary Jane often used an old camper at the track.

I've seen them and this car at the track in Albuquerque. I didn't know them, but I remembered because the way car looked (cool!) and how much fun they were having.

My condolences.

A

[nardstrom]

Thanks all for your kind thoughts. My dad was most generous, sharing his time with me when I was young, and then later, sharing his passion for Porsches and racing with both Nancy and I. We miss him dearly.
Mike Porter