PERU – Ellery G. Porter Sr., 94, of Peru, Maine, passed peacefully at Rumford Community Hospital on March 17, 2019, with family by his side.

He was born on June 22, 1924, to Arthur and Edith Young Porter at their home on Hartford Mountain in Hartford, Maine. His family moved to Peru when he was five and resided there until his passing.

He graduated from Dixfield High School and then enlisted in the Army Air Force during World War II. He was a gunner bombardier aboard the B17, the Flying Fortress. Upon returning home he married the love of his life, Ellena Edythe Dragoon of Peru, on Dec. 1, 1946. Ellery worked various jobs in the area before settling into a lifelong career with the Oxford Paper Company. In 2015 he was given the opportunity to be part of the Honor Flight Network traveling to Washington D.C. to be recognized for his military service.

Ellery enjoyed many hobbies in his life. He was a skilled wood craftsman and enjoyed making furniture for family. He was an avid fisherman and took joy in his handmade fish pond which at times had record rainbow trout. He traveled to many places in the United States and Canada with his wife, including multiple trips to Alaska to fish and visit with family. Many summers were spent camping with his children, especially at Canton Lake in Hartford. Ellery was an avid gardener and was well known for his strawberry and raspberry plants. He was proudest of two things, his home which he constructed, and the loving family he built with his wife.

He is survived by his six children, Joyce Hubbard of Venice, Fla., Linda Cox of Peru, Ellery Porter Jr. and his wife Connie of Peru, David Porter of Peru, Jane Olsen of Peru, Susan Burke and her husband Gary of Parkdale, Ore.; 15 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandson. In addition, Ellery, is survived by many nieces, nephews; two sisters-in-law; and a bounty of close friends, especially neighbors Bernadette Canwell, Norman DeRoche, and George and Penny Richard who often helped to provide care and support during his elderly years.

He is predeceased by his parents; four siblings, Arthur Porter Jr., Waldo Porter, Inez Hanna, and Eleanor Porter; sons-in-law, David Cox and Donald Hubbard; and granddaughter, Pamela Cox Fleury.

A graveside service will be held at Demerritt Cemetery in Peru on May 31, 2019 at 11 a.m. Arrangements are cared for by Wiles Funeral Remembrance Center 30 Weld St. Dixfield, ME. A kind word may be left on his memory wall at www.wilesrc.com

In lieu of flowers, donations are encouraged for the:

Honor Flight Network

175 South Tuttle Rd.

Springfield, OH 45505 or online at

www.honorflight.org/donate-now/ or to:

St. Jude Children’s Hospital

(who he donated to yearly)

501 St. Jude Place

Memphis, TN 38105 or online at www.stjude.org or to:

Servant’s Heart

Food Pantry

98 Main St.

Peru, ME 04290

Make checks to Peru Baptist Church

memo Food Pantry

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