Thomas William Porter Jr.

Thomas William Porter Jr.

• Thomas William Porter Jr. was born on 24 July 1907 in Franklin, Macon County, North Carolina.
• He married Mabel Parker, daughter of Oliver Weeks Parker and Susan Pearl Boatwright, on 30 December 1937 in Macon County, North Carolina, with minister J. E. Abernathay officiating, at the Methodist Church, witnessed by Roan Bradley, Mrs. Emma Huskins and Mrs. G. A. Jones. At the time of their marriage, both bride and groom were residents of Franklin, North Carolina.
• Thomas William Porter Jr. and Mabel Parker appeared in the US federal census of 1 April 1940 in Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee, at 1019 McMahon Avenue. IN 1935, Thomas and Mabel were living in Franklin, Macon County, North Carolina.
• He was employed by the War Department as a civil engineer, according to the 1940 census.
• Thomas William Porter Jr. became a widower at the 25 January 1983 death of his wife.
• Thomas William Porter Jr. died on 9 January 2005 at age 97 in Austin, Travis County, Texas.
• He was interred at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas.
• The following appeared on 14 January 2005 in the Austin American-Statesman: Thomas William Porter, Jr., died Sunday, January 9, 2005, at the age of 97, while in residence at the Heartland Health Care Center in Austin, Texas. Tom was born July 24, 1907, in Franklin, North Carolina. He attended school in Franklin, and graduated from Bingham Military School in Asheville, North Carolina. After attending Duke University, he worked as a surveyor with the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Geological Survey. After seeing action with the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II in the Pacific theater, Tom moved to Texas in 1946 to begin work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, serving as a project engineer at Dam "B" near Jasper, Texas, and later at Bryan Air Force Base in Bryan, Texas. He left Texas in 1960 to become Chief of Engineering and Construction at Nellis AFB in Las Vegas, Nevada. His final assignment as a civil servant was with the U.S. Air Force Security Service (now the Air Intelligence Agency) with assignments in San Antonio, Texas, and Frankfurt, Germany. He retired from Civil Service in 1968, and continued for 21 years as an engineering consultant in Franklin, North Carolina and later in San Antonio. Tom married Mabel Parker in 1937, and they had two children, Eve Lockhart-Fariss and Thomas William Porter, III. He is survived by his two children and their spouses, David Fariss and Louise Wells Porter; grandchildren Laurie Anne Lockhart West and husband Ronnie, John Richard Lockhart, II and wife Jaimie, Stephen Wells Porter, and James Lawrence Porter; and Tom's two sisters, Jean Jerome of Florence, South Carolina, and Lane Goldsmith and husband, the Rev. Browning Goldsmith of Clinton, South Carolina. He was preceded in death by his parents, Thomas William and Leona Bryson Porter; by his wife, Mabel ("Parker"); by his brother, James Bryson Porter and wife Ellen Jane Lorenz Porter; and by Jean's husband, the Rev. Robert Jerome. Tom was from a strong Methodist family. He was a gifted jazz pianist, a great lover of classical and big band music, a collector of art, brass, knives and swords, and interesting pieces of furniture from around the planet. Tom was a devoted Rotarian, and loved his volunteer work with United Way and various symphony orchestras. The family would like to thank all of the staff at the Heartland Health Care Center for their compassion and friendship. A full military service will be held at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio on January 18, 2005, at 10:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, his family requests that donations be made in memoriam to the Organ Fund at Oak Hill United Methodist Church, 7815 Hwy. 290 West, Austin, Texas 78736.

• Last Edited: 9 Feb 2013