CUMBERLAND — John Warren Porter, 78, died peacefully Sunday, Nov. 14, at Bay Square in Yarmouth.

On Nov. 25, 1931, he was born in Orono, a son of Thomas and Ethel Porter.

After graduating from Orono High School in 1950, he joined the U.S. Air Force and served until 1956.

A passion for teaching and mathematics, he earned a bachelor’s degree in education in 1959, a master’s degree in education in 1966 from the University of Maine, and a master’s degree in education in 1974 from the University of Maine at Portland-Gorham.

His teaching career in mathematics spanned three decades, including public schools in North Yarmouth, Gray and Gray-New Gloucester; North Yarmouth Academy, Saint Joseph’s College and University of Southern Maine.

Outside of the classroom, he was a longtime rural mail carrier in North Yarmouth. Over the years he served his community by volunteering as a trustee and superintendent of Blanchard Cemetery in Falmouth for 25 years, a former trustee of the Maine Center for the Blind, past president and active member of the Cumberland/North Yarmouth Lions Club, and was a member of the Cumberland Congregational Church and North Yarmouth Congregational Church.

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An avid gardener and outdoor enthusiast, he travelled extensively and volunteered for Elder-Hostel and Habitat for Humanity projects in his later years.

He was preceded in death by his first wife, Yvonne Goupil Porter, in 1968, and a son John W. Porter, Jr., in 1986.

Survivors include two sons, Jeffrey W. Porter and his wife Mary of Cumberland, and their five children, Molly, Eliza, Sam, Isabel and Tate, and James W. Porter and his partner Alison Moser of Poland; his sister Dorothy Fielder of Bangor; his former wife Rita Conlogue Porter of Farmington; two stepsons Fred Conlogue and his wife Tammy of Farmington, and their three children Zachary, Griffin, and Mackenzie, and Mike Conlogue and his wife Paige of Montpelier, Vt., and their two children Madeline and Thomas.

The family would like to extend their gratitude to the caring staff at Bay Square and Beacon Hospice.

A celebration of his life will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 19 at Val Halla Banquet Center, 58 Val Halla Road, Cumberland.

Memorial donations may be sent to the Cumberland and North Yarmouth Lions Club scholarship fund.

Arrangements are by Wilson Funeral Home, 24 Shaker Road, Gray.

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