Roy James Porter, of Great Falls, passed away on December 8, 2014 of natural causes. He was 90 years old. A Memorial Service will be held Friday, December 12th at 1:00pm in the Rose Room Chapel at Croxford Funeral Home.

Roy was born to Alice and Harley Smith in the Township of Champion, New York on November 20, 1924. Throughout his childhood his family moved numerous times, 13 to be exact, and as a result Roy received his basic education from eight different schools. He graduated from Glen Park High in Brownville, NY in 1940 and went on to obtain his Bachelor’s Degree in 1949 from Aeronautical University in Chicago. Prior to his enrollment in college, Roy served three years in the US Navy. He completed boot camp in Sampson, NY and was sent to Radio School at Miami University in Oxford, OH. Roy was a Radioman, Second Class, and was assigned to staff of LST Group 25 until his honorable discharge in 1946.

Roy was married to his first wife, Francis Kellner, in 1947 in Watertown, NY and the two later divorced. In 1978 Roy was married to Bonnie Burrey in Carson City, NV and they were blessed with 36 years of marriage before his passing. He spent 13 years doing home delivery of dairy products before beginning a new career as a mail carrier on a rural route. He retired in 1985 after 22 years with the US Postal Service. Roy was a lifetime member of Sonora, California’s Men’s Bowling Association and enjoyed the game so much that he spent eight and a half years on the bowling desk at Pin’N’Cue.

Survivors include his wife, Bonnie Porter; daughter Dawn (Jon) Wood of Great Falls; son, Robyn (Arwen) Porter of Great Falls; foster-daughters, Kathyann and Rona; as well as eight grandchildren.

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