By Elizabeth Lowe
Staff writer

Atlas Twp. – Roger Porter, known as family man, community leader, and in connection with family-owned Porter’s Orchard, died July 5.
Roger, 79, was born Oct. 7 to Raymond W. and Edith Porter, the middle son of five children who grew up helping out with the orchard his father started in 1921.
The children were nearly always picking weeds, apples, or cherries, said his youngest sister Ellen Francis, and Roger–the only son–helped spray and prune.
He was a thoughtful, fun, and loving big brother who always gave in to Ellen’s wishes to ride along on an errand, she said.
‘I remember him taking my hand and flipping it over the back of my short blonde hair and he’d say, ‘OK, Cookie.??
Childhood friend and neighbor Byron Churchill, 80, often worked at the orchard to earn money. Roger and Churchill hauled gravel from Kipp Road to build the foundation of the orchard’s cider mill.
He grew up on radio shows like ‘The Lone Ranger’and ‘All American Boy?.
There were no organized sports for country boys, but the two would ride bikes to Kearsley Creek for a swim, only to work up a lather riding back home in the summer heat.
‘We were inseparable all the way through from grade school,? said Churchill, who joined Roger in setting up a makeshift telephone system so the two could talk.
Churchill recalled one trip to Dalby’s market, where the boys bought ‘cannon crackers’about as big as nickels. Churchill used his to blow a hole in his new straw hat, vowing to wear it home no matter how it looked. ‘It came down in flutters,? he said, with a little laugh. ‘There was nothing left.?
Roger learned generosity from his father, who would put taps in root beer syrup barrels to serve root beer-flavored cider for school carnivals.
During World War II, when Roger’s father would make trips to Baltimore, Md. to help at an arsenal, Roger managed the orchard. It gave him a taste for running the family business, said Ellen.
At 17, he persuaded his parents to give their permission to join the U.S. Navy from fall of 1943 to 1945, when he became a first class electrician on the ship LST-126. His family recalls Roger’s experience on a minesweeper that cruised to Alaska.
‘It was purchased by the Russians,? said Roger’s daughter, Gay Porter. ‘My dad was very impressed that the Russians were so very like us except for the language.?
Roger grew up attending Goodrich United Methodist Church, converting to Christianity while in the Navy at a revival in San Diego. He was one of the few sailors who didn’t drink or smoke, said Gay.
While in the Navy, Roger began writing to his future wife, Maxine Whipple.
‘They met through our aunt,? said Gay. ‘Mom was working in Flint at Vernor’s, and Dad’s sister met my mom there.?
Maxine’who had not been allowed to date prior to Roger’corresponded with him six months before the two met face-to-face. It was love at first sight. Six months later they married, on Dec. 21, 1946.
Roger studied horticulture at Iowa State University, and worked in an Iowa factory, where he affirmed his desire to manage the orchard full-time.
‘He just hated it,? said his son, Ray Porter. ‘He wanted to come back to the farm.?
Roger and Maxine returned to Michigan in 1949, when Roger’s father died. The couple partnered with Roger’s mother so the family business and home could go on.
‘It meant that I could stay there and finish school,? said Ellen, with emotion, referring to Roger and Maxine as sort of surrogate parents, since she was in her sophomore year at Goodrich at the time. ‘I will always be grateful for that.?
With his exposure to new horticultural methods and fine-tuned management instincts, Roger made visible changes in the business, planting dwarf trees and expanding the sales room.
‘When he pruned, it looked like the trees got a butch cut,? said retired Goodrich teacher Ed Noll, whom Roger became friends with in 1953 through school field trips. ‘He was proud of his orchard.?
Before adopting Gay, Roger and Maxine worked side-by-side for 11 years, Maxine driving a team of horses so Roger could spray the orchard. The two remained best friends throughout nearly 59 years of marriage.
The Porters were a close family, always gathering around the table for meat and potato meals, often topped off with apple crisp or pie. Everything was done together: Christmas shopping, taking a role in the church, family devotions, vacations, swimming or putt-putt golf outings, even annually watching ‘The Wizard of Oz?.
Ray recalls sweeping floors and sitting on his dad’s lap on the tractor as a young child.
‘He let me grab ahold of the steering wheel and made me think I was steering,? said Ray.
Theirs was the ‘Kool-Aid? house, said Gay, where kids loved to play in the fields.
‘Dad loved motorcycles. He knew I wanted my own motorcycle and he said, ‘I’ll tell you what, I’ll go in half with you but you’ve got to let me ride it any time I want,?? said Ray, remembering their first gold Yamaha 175.
Their father had a Red Skelton sense of humor, said Gay.
Roger was a generous man, say his friends and family, hiring Goodrich High School students recommended by Noll. Many area school children took wagon ride tours of the orchard, where he delighted in teaching them about horticulture. Roger donated cider for Hadley’s Fourth of July festivities, and apples for church fund-raisers and area soup kitchens.
Roger served in the early years on the board of Michigan Certified Farm Markets, part of the Farm Bureau, and was active on the board of the Federal Land Bank. He had orchard friends all across the country, and was active in horticulture and grower organizations as well as in numerous roles at the Goodrich United Methodist Church.
Roger also served on the Atlas Township Board, successfully joining other board members in opposing a manufactured home development on property that had been sold near the orchard.
Later, in an act of kindness, he helped a stranded motorist near the orchard change a flat tire. The two got to talking, said Ray, and the man’who turned out to be a real estate agent’said he was selling the property.
‘Heck, I’ll buy it,? said Roger, who later built his home on the land.
He will be remembered as a wonderfully kind, fun, and devout man who stayed close to his wife, sisters, children, grandchilden, step-grandchildren, cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends, says Roger’s family and friends.
‘He was very morally straight,? said Churchill. ‘I would have trusted him with my daughter or my sister any time in the world.?
‘He was the best dad,? said Gay. ‘I don’t think he ever met anybody who wasn’t his friend.?
‘He lived a very full life,? said Ray. ‘He lived it the way God intended him to.?
Visitation will continue at Goodrich United Methodist Church until Sunday.
Visitation hours: 3 to 5 p.m. and 6:30 to 8 p.m. July 8; 10:30 a.m. to noon July 9. A service to celebrate Roger’s life will be held at noon July 9 at the church, located at 8071 M-15 in Goodrich, officiated by the Rev. Karl Zeigler will officiate.

Cut:
The late Roger Porter , on his Ford model 8N tractor, gives his classic greeting to a Porter’s Orchard visitor in 1990. Photo provided.