John R. Porter

Funeral services for John R. Porter, 66, Topeka, will be at 9 a.m. Wednesday at Susanna Wesley United Methodist Church in Topeka. Burial will immediately follow at Oakridge Cemetery in Perry.Mr. Porter died Friday, March 14, 2008.He was born Sept. 28, 1941, in Perry, the son of Francis and Clara Hiner Porter.Mr. Porter was a graduate of Perry Rural High School.He retired from the Santa Fe Railway after 35 years. He was a member of Perry Masonic Lodge No. 415, Scottish Rite and Topeka Arab Shrine, where he served as Potentate in 2000. He was also a member of Susanna Wesley United Methodist Church.Mr. Porter married Sharon K. Leonard in 1961 at Perry United Methodist Church. She survives.Other survivors include one son, John R. “J.R.” II and wife Kathy, Perry; two daughters, Ginger Reynolds and husband Scott, Peoria, Ill., and Audra Silkey and husband Bruce, Tecumseh; seven granddaughters, Alexandra, Jessica and Olivia Porter, Ellen and Grace Reynolds, and Whitney and Mallory Silkey; two sisters, Lola Plank and husband Bill, Los Angeles, and Wilma Casto and husband Dale, Topeka; and a brother, Ralph and wife Sharon, Perry.He was preceded in death by his parents; three sisters, Mildred Reese, Marilyn Weeks and Myrna Porter; and a brother, Everett Wayne.Friends may call from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Penwell-Gabel Mid-Town Chapel.The family suggests memorials to the Arab Shrine Travel Fund, 1305 Kansas Ave., Topeka, KS 66612, or to Midland Hospice, 220 S.W. Frazier Court, Topeka, KS 66606.Online condolences may be made at www.penwellgabel.com.