In Memory Of
William Gale Porter
1935
2020
William Gale Porter
December 17, 1935 — September 28, 2020
William "Bill" Gale Porter was born on December 17, 1935 in Albany, MO to Ralph William and Neva (Ruch) Porter. He went to be with his savior on September 28, 2020.
Bill is survived by his wife, Barbara (Koch) Porter; two children, Gregory (Kenda) and LaDeane; six grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. Grandchildren are Cody (Amanda), Cory (Stephanie), Miranda, Michael, Jordan and Reagan. Great-grandchildren are Abigail, Caleb, Blake, Hazel and Maeve. He was preceded in death by both parents; a sister, Sandra Bolar; and a brother, Darrell.
Bill was baptized on April 15, 1949 at the First Baptist Church in Albany, MO. On December 20, 1959, he was confirmed into the Lutheran Church (LCMS) at Trinity Lutheran Church in Salina, KS. Bill was a long-standing member of St. John's Lutheran Church (LCMS) Topeka, where he had served on the school board, ushered, was an Elder and Zone chairman of the LLL.
He held several part time jobs growing up from the 6th grade in Albany including 2 summers of Blue Grass harvest in South Dakota at age of 15 and 16.
Bill served 4 years in the United States Air Force and was last stationed at Forbes AFB, Topeka, KS. While at Forbes, he was TDY to Trule Greenland, Newfoundland and the Azore Islands for 3 months. He also had short TDY's to Alaska and Saudi Arabia. This was to maintain the intercom, Radio and Search Radar on KC97 Air refueling aircraft which was the predecessor of the KC135.
After the Air Force, Bill completed a course in Business and Accounting at Brown Mackie School of Business in Salina and attended Washburn University for 2 years. While at Forbes, he met the love of his life, Barbara Koch and they shared 61 plus years together.
He was the Parts Manager at a Volkswagen Dealership for 10 years and retired as Regional Manager for Bowman Distributions after 22 years.
He retired in January of 1996 to be able to spend time with his wife and grandkids. He also loved to play golf and travel with Barb. He enjoyed spending time at their home on the Lake of the Ozarks, where he taught his children and grandchildren how to ski. He loved his family more than anything and will be dearly missed.
Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, October 7, 2020 at St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church. Burial with military honors will follow at Memorial Park Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 6, 2020 at the Penwell-Gabel Funeral Home.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church, 901 SW Fillmore, Topeka, KS 66606.
To leave a special message for the family online, visit the guestbook below.
Bill is survived by his wife, Barbara (Koch) Porter; two children, Gregory (Kenda) and LaDeane; six grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. Grandchildren are Cody (Amanda), Cory (Stephanie), Miranda, Michael, Jordan and Reagan. Great-grandchildren are Abigail, Caleb, Blake, Hazel and Maeve. He was preceded in death by both parents; a sister, Sandra Bolar; and a brother, Darrell.
Bill was baptized on April 15, 1949 at the First Baptist Church in Albany, MO. On December 20, 1959, he was confirmed into the Lutheran Church (LCMS) at Trinity Lutheran Church in Salina, KS. Bill was a long-standing member of St. John's Lutheran Church (LCMS) Topeka, where he had served on the school board, ushered, was an Elder and Zone chairman of the LLL.
He held several part time jobs growing up from the 6th grade in Albany including 2 summers of Blue Grass harvest in South Dakota at age of 15 and 16.
Bill served 4 years in the United States Air Force and was last stationed at Forbes AFB, Topeka, KS. While at Forbes, he was TDY to Trule Greenland, Newfoundland and the Azore Islands for 3 months. He also had short TDY's to Alaska and Saudi Arabia. This was to maintain the intercom, Radio and Search Radar on KC97 Air refueling aircraft which was the predecessor of the KC135.
After the Air Force, Bill completed a course in Business and Accounting at Brown Mackie School of Business in Salina and attended Washburn University for 2 years. While at Forbes, he met the love of his life, Barbara Koch and they shared 61 plus years together.
He was the Parts Manager at a Volkswagen Dealership for 10 years and retired as Regional Manager for Bowman Distributions after 22 years.
He retired in January of 1996 to be able to spend time with his wife and grandkids. He also loved to play golf and travel with Barb. He enjoyed spending time at their home on the Lake of the Ozarks, where he taught his children and grandchildren how to ski. He loved his family more than anything and will be dearly missed.
Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, October 7, 2020 at St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church. Burial with military honors will follow at Memorial Park Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 6, 2020 at the Penwell-Gabel Funeral Home.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church, 901 SW Fillmore, Topeka, KS 66606.
To leave a special message for the family online, visit the guestbook below.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of William Gale Porter, please visit our flower store.
Service Schedule
Past Services
Visitation
Tuesday, October 6, 2020
6:00 - 8:00 pm (Central time)
Penwell-Gabel - Mid-Town Chapel
Guestbook
Visits: 5
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