Leonard E. Porter, 66, of Westfield Township, passed away Friday, January 14, 2005, at Hospice Care Center of Akron.
He was born in Westfield Township on March 29, 1938, to Lloyd and Geraldine Dague Porter and was a lifetime resident of Westfield Township. He graduated from Leroy High School in 1956. Mr. Porter was a farmer and worked for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources at Spencer Wildlife Area for 30 years.
Mr. Porter is survived by his wife, Agnes (Wacker); daughters, Jennifer (Brian) Mantz of Seville :and Dawn Long of Lodi; son, Larry Porter of Seville; :grandchildren, Julie and Dean Meager, and Codie and Lary Porter; and sisters, Arlene (Lary) Grim and Joyce (Charles) Siman, all of Chatham Township. He was preceded in death by his parents.
Service: 11 a.m. Monday at Parker & Son Funeral Home, 210 Medina Street, Lodi. The Rev. Keith Bohley will officiate. Burial: Westfield Center Cemetery. Visiting hours: 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Visiting Nurse Service and Hospice Development Foundation, 3358 Ridgewood Road, Akron, 44333.
The following contributed by Tom Jones:
Leonard Porter, retired area manager of the Ohio Division of Wildlife Spencer Wildlife Area in Medina county passed away Friday, January 14, 2005.
During Leonard’s stewardship at Spencer, he added nest structures for wood ducks and squirrels, habitat for all sorts of game animals and watchable wildlife. He added marshes and developed wetlands on the area.
The newspaper said that Leonard was a farmer, but that doesn’t cover it. Sure he farmed the wildlife area to benefit wildlife. He farmed at home also. But at Spencer and at home he was an electrician, plumber, carpenter, machinist and mechanic. He ran all the equipment, and maintained it winter and summer. He was from the old school. He was an ambassador for the division in Medina county. More importantly he was a friend to the rest of us who worked with him and a great family man.
We all enjoyed the cold winter days when we took our lunch break and had a big bowl of chili from the crock pot that his wife Aggie had prepared and sent to work with him. He will be missed.