Obituary of Joyce Porter

Joyce A. Porter Joyce Porter, a long-time resident of Olympia, passed away at RooLan Care Facility on March 25, 2011. Joyce was born June 4, 1929, in Judson, North Dakota, to Forrest Arden and Ida Caroline (Wendt) Gunder. She was raised in North Dakota, Minnesota, Bremerton and Yakima, Washington, and graduated from high school in 1947 in Ephrata, Washington. Joyce met her husband, James D. Porter, in her senior year in high school. They married July 4, 1947. Together they raised four children (Paige, James D. Jr., Kimberly, and John M. III), travelled extensively, and spent more than 64 years together. Joyce’s passion was her family; she found so much joy in family gatherings, whether reunions, weddings, birthdays, births, holidays—anytime to gather a group of family together meant so much to her. With each new member, whether child, grandchild, or great-grandchild, niece, nephew—her heart filled with happiness and she always had room for just one more. Joyce and Jim also loved travelling, taking the trailer out on weekends, longer trips, and eventually becoming snowbirds for many years—exploring, meeting new people, reconnecting with familiar faces, all made her happy. Joyce lived just a few weeks longer than her long-time sweetheart; they had been together 64 years. She is survived by Paige, James D. Jr., and John M. III (wife, KarenJo). [She was also preceded in death by Kimberly (2007)]. Jim and Joyce were blessed with six grandchildren, Preston Porter, Sierra (husband, Matt) Wardell, Brandy (husband, Hosea) Livingston, Adam Skoflanc, KelliJo (husband, Jerry) Hodgkins, and Noel (husband, Christian) O’Keefe; and eight great-grandchildren. “Perhaps they are not the stars, but rather openings in Heaven where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy.” ~Author Unknown A Memorial Service will be held on Wednesday, April 13, 10:30 a.m., at South Sound Manor in Olympia. Additionally, there will be a graveside service in Ephrata, Washington, on the 4th of July weekend, which would have been their 64th wedding anniversary. It is suggested that memorials be made to your favorite charity. Thank you to the wonderful staff at RooLan who accepted both Mom and Dad as family and treated them with warmth and love for this chapter of their lives. Remember Joyce with her heart of gold, her open arms, and her love of life … that is how we will remember her. To leave memories of Joyce or condolences for the family, please click on "View Guestbook" below.