Dr Philip Wayland Porter died on Wednesday, April 24, 2024 in Hanover, New Hampshire.
He was born July 9, 1928, also in Hanover, New Hampshire, the son of Wayland R. and Bertha (La Plante) Porter. Philip married Patricia Elizabeth Garrigus on September 5, 1950 in Ashland, Ohio. Philip is survived by three daughters, Janet E. Holmén, Sara L. Porter, and Alice C. Porter, sons-in-law Kim Holmén and Ted Ingham, five grandchildren, and two great grandchildren.
Philip is a graduate of Kimball Union Academy (1946), where his father taught mathematics and physics, and his mother was a librarian. He earned an AB degree in 1950 from Middlebury College, an MA in 1955 from Syracuse University, and a PhD in 1957 from the University of London (London School of Economics and Political Science). He enlisted in the U.S. Army and served for two years between 1952 and 1954. By profession he was a geographer, his main interest being Africa. From 1956 to 2000, he worked at the Geography Department of the University of Minnesota, where he was loved and respected as a teacher, colleague, and peacemaker. He also served as Director of the University’s Office of International Programs from 1979-1984. He published several books and many articles in professional journals on African cultural ecology and on third world development.
Despite having died a mere two miles from where he was born, Phil traveled all over the world. He spent extended periods doing fieldwork in several African countries, often accompanied by his wife, Pat, and twice also by their children. On one occasion the family drove from London, England to Durban, South Africa, living in a Land Rover, and visiting Phil’s colleagues and former PhD students along the way. As Director of the Office of International Programs he led an academic delegation from the US to China in 1980.
One of his chief delights in life was music, particularly choral music and the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. In choirs, the other basses competed to sit near him, where they could rely on his ability to read music and sing the right notes. His warm baritone will be missed, not least by his children. No gathering of the Porter clan was complete without an evening spent singing in four-part harmony around the dining table.
A celebration of the lives of both Phil and Pat (who died on December 21, 2021) was held at Kendal at Hanover on Sunday, April 28, 2024. Contributions may be made to the Cadbury Fund, Kendal at Hanover, 67 Cummings Road, Hanover, NH 03755.