McMinnville resident and Keene, Texas native Ruth Elizabeth Benton Porter, 87, was born June 3, 1927 and died Aug. 11 at St. Thomas West Hospital in Nashville following a short illness.
A retired teacher from Faulkner Springs Christian School and a member of McMinnville Seventh-Day Adventist Church, she was the daughter of the late Roy Lee and Mary Margaret Reed Benton. She was married Sept. 15, 1949 to Joseph Thomas Porter Jr., who preceded her in death June 22, 2014. In addition to her husband and parents, she was preceded in death by two brothers, Robert and Willis Benton; and sister, Esther Benton.
She is survived by three children and their spouses, Michael and Karen Porter of Laurel, Md., Greg and Mary Kay Porter of Olney, Md., and Steve and LeAnn Porter of Hoover, Ala.; five grandchildren, Summer Elizabeth Porter-Burke, Andrew Michael Porter, Brooke Jean Colburn, Sarah Michelle Porter and Amber Dawn Baker; eight great-grandchildren; and brother and sister-in-law, Elvin Lee and Pat Benton of Buena Vista, Colo.
A memorial service will be held at 4 p.m. Saturday at Seventh-Day Adventist Church, 215 Bluff Springs Rd., McMinnville, with Mitch Hazekamp and Michael Porter officiating. Burial will follow at Faulkner Cemetery at Pike Hill.
High Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Southern Standard
(McMinnville, Tenn.) Oct. 17, 2014