Norman Venard Porter, of Dixon, was born on June 13, 1926, in Miller County, a son of Thomas Woods and Anna Myrtle (Perkins) Porter, and departed this life at 10:20 p.m., on Sunday evening, August 21, 2016, in the University of Missouri Hospital and Clinics, Columbia. Mr. Porter had attained the age of 90 years, 2 months, and 8 days.

Mr. Porter was united in marriage on April 13, 1946, at Harrison, Arkansas, to the former Miss Mary Ellen Slone, and to this union, three children were born. He was preceded in death by his father, Thomas, on July 20, 1977; his mother, Anna, on February 5, 1980; one sister, Velma Lorene Mitchell, on February 6, 1998; and one brother, Carman Perkins.

Mr. Porter was a member and Deacon of First Baptist Church in Dixon; fifty year member and Past Master of the Arlington Lodge No. 346 in Dixon; past member of the York Rite, Scottish Rite, and Abou Ben Adhem Shrine; two term member, and served as President, of the Dixon R-1 Board of Education; and past member of the Gascosage Electric Co-Operative Board of Directors. He especially enjoyed flying his own airplane, and he had owned, flown, and sold 23 different airplanes during his life time. He also liked boating, RVing, and Tennessee Walking Horses.

During his working life, Mr. Porter had been employed by the FRISCO Railroad as a surveyor; a power company staking power lines; the Gascosage Electric; Magann Electric in Rolla as an estimator and supervisor for outdoor electric while building Whiteman Airforce Base; founder and owner of Porter Electric Company (PECO) starting in Dixon then in Rolla; owner of Star Sign Company in Rolla; at Fort Leonard Wood as an estimator supervisor and Electrical Engineer Technician; and prior to his retirement, worked as an electrical consultant for three different companies.

Those left to mourn the passing of Mr. Porter include: His devoted wife of 70 plus years, Mary Porter, of the home in Dixon; his children, Troy and Barbara Porter, Dixon; Trent and Darla Porter, Jefferson City; Charlotte and Jim Divincen, Osage Beach; ten grandchildren, Travis Porter, Olathe, Kansas; Shawn and Nadia Porter, Dixon; Brett Porter, Lenexa, Kansas; Jeffrey and Jenny Davidson, Jefferson City; Tiffany and Clint Cox, Fulton; Aaron and Annie Davidson, Chicago, Illinois; Matt Lewis, Kansas City; Christy and T.J. Kitchen, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Melissa and Jesse Zeugin, St. Louis; and Kelli and Jed Foreman, Santa Barbara, California; ten great grandchildren, Wyatt, Montana, Abigail, Emmeline, Sophia, Libby, Rhys, Bennett, Elliot, and Jace;one brother, T.W. Porter, Fort Smith, Arkansas; and other relatives and friends.

Memorial contributions are suggested to the Shriners Hospital with envelopes available at the Dixon Office of the Birmingham-Martin Funeral Home, 105 East Third Street or in care of the Birmingham-Martin Funeral Home, P.O. Box EE, Dixon, Missouri 65459.