David T. Porter, age 76, of Mystic, died July 23, 2011, after an accident the previous day.
Son of Dorothy Jane (Davy) and Clarence H. Porter, he was born in Boston, MA and raised in Hingham, MA.
He attended preparatory school at Milton Academy and graduated in 1952. He attended Yale University and graduated in 1956 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. While at Yale, he took up running. He was a member of the Yale track team, specializing in cross country running, and the Yale Hockey team as a goalie. During college, he participated in the ROTC program. After graduation, he served as officer in the Air Force from 1956 though 1960. His duty included working as navigator and refueling planes during peace time in Texas and Alaska.
In 1960 he married first wife Barbara Mae Hall of Hingham, MA and had two children.
In 1960, he accepted a summer position at Naval Underwater Sound Lab in New London, CT. He then attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, in Troy New York, from 1960 – 1961 to earn his master’s degree in Mathematics. He played hockey as a graduate student at RPI.
He began working full-time at the “Sound Lab” in 1961, and soon after settled in Mystic, where he resided for 48 years.
In November of 1969, he married Julia Helen Harris, of Hingham, MA, his wife of 42 years.
He worked at the Naval Underwater Sound Lab (now the Naval Undersea Warfare Center) as an Acoustical Engineer for 31 years, until he accepted early retirement in 1992, along with many others as the Cold War was ending. He was an original runner of the NUSC (Naval Underwater System Center) runners’ group.
He is remembered for his love of athletics and could be seen daily running, biking or swimming. In his prime, he competed in dozens of major running races including marathons of Yonkers, NY, Boston, MA, and Newport, RI. He continued to compete in local races and triathlons through his senior years.
In his early retirement years, he taught evening math courses at the University of New Haven’s New London campus.
David was an enthusiastic volunteer with many community organizations in the greater Mystic area. He volunteered with the Mystic Valley Soccer League for 20 years, first as a coach and then as a referee. Later, he assisted with the Mystic Little League program. He provided volunteer math tutoring through the Groton Public Library.
He was an active communicant of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Mystic, where he sang in the choir. He served as treasurer of the Mystic Area Ecumenical Council for 10 years. He was an avid Bridge player and taught Bridge lessons.
He is survived by his wife Julia Harris Porter, of Mystic, his three children Alice Louise Porter of Middleburg, VA, William Wallace Porter of Mystic, and Caroline Porter Misarski of Wallingford, CT, and a grandson Alexander David Misarski. He is also survived by his sister, Claire Pearmain of Lincoln, MA and his first wife, Barbara Porter of Satsuma, FL. In addition to his immediate family, he is survived by many in-laws, their children and grandchildren. They include the families of sister-in-law Lydia Harris and brother-in-law Carl Harris of Hingham, MA, sister-in-law Caroline Baldwin of Silver City, NM and sister-in-law Susan Meyers of Rockford, IL, and nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be held at 11:00 am July 30, 2011 at St. Marks Episcopal Church in Mystic, with a reception to follow at the church.
Contributions in his memory can be made to the Church World Service, Elkhart, Indiana or St. Marks Church, Pearl Street, Mystic.
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