Porter Gaylord Shreve Jr.

Porter G. Shreve, Jr., 85, of Washington, DC died peacefully at his home on December 2, 2024, surrounded by his family. Born in 1939 to Porter G. Shreve, Sr. and Elsie Gordon MacPherson, he was raised in Washington, DC with his sister Jackie and brother Roderick. During his childhood he served as a choir boy and acolyte at the National Cathedral and graduated from St. Albans School, where he was known as one of the finest athletes in the school’s history. In 1956 he was named Touchdown Club Schoolboy Athlete of the Year, All-American in football, all conference in basketball, and was offered a significant contract by the New York Giants to play major league baseball. He chose instead to attend Wesleyan University then transferred to the University of Pennsylvania, where he was considered the most talented triple-threat back in the Ivy League, if not all of college football. A severe injury in 1961 ended his athletic career, and he served the rest of his life as an educator, mental health counselor and therapist.

He earned a Master of Education from the University of Virginia and held various high school teaching and administrative positions until the early 1970s. He taught in Cheshire, England, and was Assistant Headmaster of the Blue Ridge School and the Hill School outside of Philadelphia, where he also founded an experiential learning school called “Our House is a Very Very Very Fine House.” In 1975 he earned his certification in Marriage and Family Therapy in Houston, Texas, then worked for several years in Maryland with the Montgomery County Health Department, counseling at-risk teens and families. For the rest of his career, he ran an independent therapy practice in the Washington, DC area until retiring at age 84.

In his athletic prime Porter was a six foot two, two hundred pound force of power, speed and grace, but off the field he was the kindest, most gentle soul to his students, clients, friends and family. He was deeply humble and shy in the spotlight, but he graced the cover of Life Magazine, sang for the Queen of England, was a perennial favorite on the local sports pages, and was the model for a seraphic statue at the Cathedral’s east entrance. He was known, perhaps most of all, for his optimism, his generosity of spirit and his determination to see the best in people. With a warm smile and an easy laugh, he committed his life to serving others.

Porter married his childhood sweetheart, the Washington novelist Susan Richards Shreve, in 1962 and together they had four children. He later married Carol Shreve, and they were actively involved with the Rotary Club of Friendship Heights and Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rotary. Carol died in 2018. Porter is survived by his four children and their spouses: Porter (Delia), Elizabeth (Russell), Caleb (Jessica) and Katharine (Aaron); his stepson and his spouse, Tony (Pam); ten grandchildren: Theo, Noah, Isaak, Henry, Aden, Padget, Eliza, Julian, Elodie, and Isla and two step-grandchildren: Enzo and Nico, all of whom brought him the greatest joy through his later years.