William David Porter's Obituary
William “Bill” Porter, born in Detroit, MI on July 26, 1935, passed away on January 14, 2024 in Tucson, AZ.
Bill grew up in the Detroit area and graduated from the University of Michigan School of Architecture. Bill and his family transplanted to the Sonoran Desert in 1966. He was the project manager for the construction of several notable Tucson landmarks including the Catalina Foothills High School, the Pima Community College West Campus, and the TCC Music Hall as well as several U of A buildings.
He even designed his own home in Tucson - a gift that blessed his entire family for over 30 years.
Bill was a talented musician - he played the piano beautifully and sang in his church choir as well as in many performances with the Arizona Opera Company chorus. Bill was an active member of his
Tucson community as a member of his church and the local YMCA “Y’s Men’s Club”. He could make a waffle that made his grandchildren rejoice on weekend mornings and joke with a humor drier than the
desert he called his home. He will be dearly missed.
He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Lillian Porter, and their three daughters Laura Porter, Marianne Hafler and Rebecca Shepperd. He is also survived by a brother, John, four grandchildren, Paige
Sallee, Christian Shepperd, Isabelle Wixon, Lizza Shepperd and one great-grandchild, Margo Sallee.
Memorial services will be held at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church at 1431 W. Magee Rd. Tucson,
AZ at 10:30am, Saturday Jan 20, 2024. He will be interred at a later date at the Porter family plot in Waynesburg, PA.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests gifts made in his memory to St. Mark’s UMC/Music Ministry www.umcstmarks.org or the YMCA Foundation of Southern Arizona www.tucsonymca.org/donate.
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