Dorothy Mae Alder Porter

Logan, Utah -- Dorothy Mae Alder Porter, 90, died peacefully in her sleep Tuesday morning, May 23, 2006. Her daughter Marsha was with her when she passed away in her room at the Sunshine Terrace Skilled Nursing Home in Logan, where she had resided for the past two years while suffering from the debilitating effects of progressive dementia. Dorothy was born in Logan on December 16, 1915, to USAC Prof. Byron Frederick and Jennie Westenskow Alder. She attended the Whittier School, Logan Junior High School, and was graduated from Logan High School in 1934. She then attended Utah State Agricultural College now USU where she was a member of Chi Omega fraternity, the Sponsor Corps, Alpha Sigma Nu honor society, and served as secretary of her sophomore class. She completed a B.S. degree in Clothing & Textiles with a minor in Merchandising in 1938. Dorothy married her high school sweetheart, Ralph Marshall Porter, on September 6, 1939, in Logan, and the newlyweds moved to Los Angeles where Ralph was employed by the Bank of America and later Douglas Aircraft. Dorothy worked in the Los Angeles office of the FBI. At the onset of World War II in 1942, Dorothy and Ralph moved to Chicago, Ill. where he helped establish a new Douglas Aircraft plant that later became O?Hare International Airport. Following the war, the couple returned to southern California for a few years before returning to Utah. In 1950, Ralph opened Logan Optical Company on Main Street. Besides being a dedicated wife and mother, Dorothy was a member of a number of community organizations including AC Women?s Club, Logan Literary Club, and the Brigham Young Camp of Daughters? of the Utah Pioneers. For many years she volunteered as a pink lady at Logan Regional Hospital. She also managed the Pro Shop at Logan Golf and Country Club for nearly 20 years from 1975 until the early-1990s. Dorothy was a skilled seamstress and created many items of clothing for herself and her family and friends over the years. She loved knitting and usually had a project underway. During the 1960s and 70s, she taught knitting in the Seventeenth Ward Relief Society for more than 17 years. She also excelled at calligraphy. A member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, she was an active in the Logan Ninth Ward, the Logan Twenty-first Ward and most recently the Logan Northwood Ward where she served in numerous ward and stake Primary, Young Women?s and Relief Society callings. She is survived by her daughter Marsha Ann Porter Taylor John, of Logan and Show Low, Ariz., and by her granddaughter Jordan Alicia Taylor, of Logan. Also surviving is Dorothy?s older brother, Dr. Horace B. ?Hod? Alder Lorene of Pasadena, Calif., and three Alder nephews and two Alder nieces. Dorothy?s husband Ralph M. Porter died here on Jan. 11, 2000, only a few months after they had marked their 60th wedding anniversary. They had lost their only son, Kirk Byron Porter in1974 to a Logan Canyon automobile accident. A graveside service will be held at 2:00 p.m. Tuesday May 30th at the Porter family plot in Logan City Cemetery. Prior to the service, friends may call at the Nelson Funeral Home, 162 East 400 North, in Logan, from 12:00 noon to 1:30 p.m. In case of inclement weather the graveside service will be moved to the Nelson Funeral Home. Condolences may be extended to the family online at www.nelsonfuneralhome.com . The family would like to express their appreciation to the nurses and staff of Wing 2 at Sunshine Terrace for the loving and conscientious care that they have given Dorothy.