Calvin Porter

Calvin R. Porter, 85, passed away Friday, May 20, 2011. He is survived by his loving wife and partner of 63 years, Jean Stephenson Porter. He is dearly missed by his close family consisting of Ray and wife, Gail; Rickey and wife, Valorie; as well as his beloved grandchildren, Chad, 24; Madeline, 17; Dakota, 11; and numerous nieces and nephews. Calvin was preceded in death by his parents, Lee and Ethel and his brother, Vernon.

Porter, as he liked to be called, was born in Trenton, Missouri and raised in a family of railroaders, but chose life on a different track. During WWII, he left home at 17 to join the Merchant Marine, where he survived U-boats in the North Atlantic and Halsey’s Typhoon in the Pacific. At war’s end, he joined the Army becoming a paratrooper serving Gen. Gavin’s 82nd Airborne. While stationed at Ft. Bragg, he met his wife to be and gained a deeply loved second family, to whom he was always helpful and generous.

In 1948, Calvin and Jean moved to Kansas City where they started the first of a number of successful businesses, including Porter’s Ready-Built Tow Trucks, once the largest manufacturer of auto recovery equipment in the Midwest, and finally CRPB, a commercial real estate firm. Although they have been two of the hardest working people of their generation, Calvin and Jean made time to take their sons and their families on numerous adventures throughout the United States, Europe, New Zealand and Australia. Porter was an irreplaceable part of the lives of his family, friends and those he helped, and will live on in their hearts.

Memorial services will be held at Mt. Moriah & Freeman Funeral Home, 10507 Holmes Rd, Kansas City, MO at 1 p.m., Wednesday, May 25. The family will receive friends from 12 – 1 p.m. Memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, 3846 West 75th St., Prairie Village, KS 66208.

Condolences may be made at www.mtmoriah-freeman.com.