Henry Allen Porter

Henry Allen Porter, longtime resident of Stayton, Oregon died on December 26, 2023, at the age of 81 following a brief illness complicated by a stroke suffered in August 2023. He died at his home surrounded by family members. Henry, or Hank, was survived by his wife of 56 years Sandi Porter, his son Vaughn Porter and wife Cynthia of Beaverton, Oregon, his daughter Penelope Doss and husband Randal of Concord, Virginia, and son Arthur Porter and wife Xann of Salem, Oregon. He also leaves behind granddaughters Mazie Doss and Jillian Porter, brothers Dale Porter and Gene Porter, and sister Alice Piercy, as well as numerous cousins. He was preceded in death by parents George and Marge Porter.

Henry was born on March 11, 1942, in St. Helens, Oregon. He spent his childhood on the Porter family dairy farm in Cloverdale, Oregon. He left the farm life behind to attend Western Oregon University (WOU).He then entered the Army in 1964, and was stationed in Seoul, South Korea. He was later stationed in Mannheim, West Germany where through a mutual friend he by chance met a fun American girl, Sandi, who was working in the American Embassy. They hit it off and when both returned to the United States they married on August 26, 1968. Henry finished his bachelor’s degree in education at WOU, in Monmouth, Oregon. He later received his master’s in education at the same institution.

Henry accepted a teaching position at Stayton Union High School in 1968.He officially retired from teaching in 2002. In that span of 30 years, Henry not only taught countless Stayton students Civics, Geography, and American history, but he also coached many more students in Cross-Country and Track, as well as a few stints at girls AAU basketball. Henry had a special passion for coaching the pole vault event. Coach Porter was known to say, “Those who can’t do, teach”, turning this old maxim into the proverb of a man who loved teaching and coaching above all other things. He was still coaching pole vault in Scio during the 2023 track season.

Hank and Sandi also chaperoned the Stayton Student Tour, thirty-nine students for seven weeks in a bus around the United States and into Canada during the summer of 1969. They also were active for many years in the American Field Service as advisor and hostess, and even housed a domestic student one summer.

Henry was a true civil servant at heart and served multiple terms in the Stayton City Council as either a councilperson or as Mayor of Stayton. Starting with his first term as mayor in 1979. Henry served a total of seven terms as Mayor of Stayton, the longest serving mayor in Oregon. He stepped down from his final term in January 2023. During his tenure, Henry helped to build and grow Stayton while keeping its core identity as a small and friendly town intact. Among many other achievements was the completion of the Stayton Community Dog Park in 2017, which was renamed the Henry A. Porter Dog Park in his honor. Henry was someone who believed that everyone should do their part in the community if they can, and even the smallest of contributions make a difference.

Henry was also a historian of guns and gun culture, as well as an accomplished gunsmith. His interest in these simple and precise machines and his passion for sharing his knowledge of them was realized in retirement as the proprietor of Hank’s Gun Shop for 11 years in beautiful downtown Stayton.

Henry was a frequent patron of the Stayton Library and a lifelong voracious reader. Henry had a love for good books in general, and his interests were wide and varied. He also enjoyed movies of all kinds and was instrumental in his family being one of the first to own a Betamax and VHS tape players so that no opportunity for home cinema viewing would be lost. Henry’s students were also frequently treated to additional history lessons recorded from public television.

Henry had an adventurer’s heart and was never content to sit quietly at home when there were interesting things to see and do elsewhere. His family joined him nearly every weekend during the school year on one Oregon adventure or another. It is believed that as a family we have seen most of what Oregon has to offer in the way of scary gravel roads that lead up remote mountains to scenic vistas. Sometimes we called this activity hunting. As a family we adventured through each summer as frequently as adult responsibilities allowed.

Henry was an active member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5638 in Stayton and recently served as the post commander. He could be seen in Independence Day parades over the years driving restored military vehicles including a WW2 halftrack, a 1942 Dodge military truck, and a Gulf War era Humvee.

Henry leaves behind many family members and friends, as well as his dog Gus, who was a fixture at his side for the last 7 years while making their way to the dog park or a city council meeting. Henry’s children send a special thank you to Hank and Sandi’s neighbors, caregivers, and other supportive friends for all their recent assistance.

Funeral Services will be held at Calvary Lutheran Church,198 Fern Ridge Rd, Stayton Oregon on January 9, 2024 at 11:00 am with an open reception to be held following the service from 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm in the church lower level.