Obituaries / LJWorld.com

Obituaries

Funeral services for Donald Ray Gorton, 82, Ottawa, will be at 10 a.m. Monday at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 401 W. 13th St., Ottawa. Burial will be at Highland Cemetery in Ottawa.
He died Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011.
Mr. Gorton was born April 23, 1929, in Ottawa, the son of Raymond Glen and Hazel Edith Burnett Gorton. He graduated from Ottawa High School in 1948. He was a lifelong Ottawa resident.
He served in the U.S. Army from Jan. 8, 1951, until Dec. 24, 1952, in Company C 102nd Infantry Regiment 43rd Division, attaining the rank of Private First Class. He was awarded the Army Occupation Medal (Germany) and the Expert Infantry Badge. He was an active Army reserve from 1952 to 1957, obtaining the rank of Corporal.
Mr. Gorton was a self-employed carpenter for 42 years. He worked for Sunrise Dairy in Ottawa and Sunflower Ordinance Plant in De Soto. He ran a building crew for many years and later worked with his son from 1972 to 1996. From the mid-1990s to 2010, he was the head maintenance man at Westminster Presbyterian Church. He built many homes in the Ottawa, Garnett and Greeley areas.
He was a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church and Williamsburg-Ottawa Wildlife Conservation Club, and life member of the National Rifle Association, North American Hunting Club and Kansas Rifle Association.
He married Carol Lee McMillen on June 16, 1956, in Ottawa. She survives of the home.
Other survivors include a son, Barry Lee Gorton, Ottawa; a daughter, Debra Ray “Debbie” Gorton-Swisher and husband Kevin, Lawrence; four brothers, Garry Gorton and wife LaWanda, and Jack Porter and wife Nedra, all of Ottawa, Rex Porter and wife Dollie, Torrance, Calif., and Steven Porter and wife Janet, Leawood; and two sisters, Shirley Hansen and husband Kelvin, Tuttle, Okla., and Patty Wait and husband George, Muskogee, Okla.
He was preceded in death by his parents and a stepfather, Kenneth Porter.
Friends may call from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. today and 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday at Dengel & Son Mortuary in Ottawa. The family will meet friends from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday at the mortuary. The casket will remain closed.
The family suggests memorials to Franklin County Cancer Foundation, sent in care of the mortuary, 235 S. Hickory, Ottawa, KS 66067. Condolences may sent to dengelmortuary@sbcglobal.net.