Robert Porter was born in a snow storm at Brownwood Memorial Hospital in January 1948. His parents were W. Gene Porter & Helen Bernice Porter. He was on the cradle roll of Coggin Ave. Baptist Church within a few weeks of going home from the hospital. If the church house light was on, the Porter family was there. Robert attended Elementary school at South Elementary and Mrs. Bueller was his 1st grade teacher.
Robert joined a Cub Scout den as soon as he was age eligible. The den mother was Silvia Richey Snodgrass. One of Roberts’ fellow cub scouts was Mrs. Richey’s son, Roger. Robert and Roger are friends to this day. They attended school together and were team mates on the Brownwood Lion 1965 State Championship football team. Silvia Richey, with the help of other Cub Scout mothers, started training young boys around her kitchen table and week by week nurtured them through all of ranks of Wolf, Bear, Lion and Webelos. Den 5 was a part of Cub Scout Pack 31 which met in the First Christian Church, which at that time was adjacent to the Howard Payne University Campus between Center and Main approximately where the HPU music building is today.
Robert took piano lessons from Leotta Bartholomew for 3 years during the 3rd, 4th and 5th grade. His musical career as a budding concert pianist was cut short when he broke his left arm in a compound fracture in the 5th grade. When he awoke from the surgery to reset his arm, the first words out of his mouth were “Oh goodie, I don’t have to play in the spring recital.” However music has been a part of his experience throughout life. Monette Wilson was his music teacher at South Elementary and, as it was her tradition each year, she took her 7th grade music class to the San Antonio Opera where they were introduced to the opera “Carmen.” Dorothy McIntosh continued Robert’s musical training in junior high and high school acapella choirs where he competed for and earned a baritone seat in the UIL All State Choir as a senior in 1966. He continued his love of choral music as a member of Dr. Ewell Porter’s Baylor Acapella Choir through 4 years of college. The choir’s summer tours included concerts in Chicago, New Orleans, Miami, LA and the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City. Today he is blessed to be a member of the Sanctuary Choir of First United Methodist Church for the past 20+ years.
Robert continued his Boy Scout Experience in troop 32 where Oran Sumpter was the scout master. The troop met in a box car behind Coggin Ave. Baptist Church. While he did not quite make it to the rank of Eagle Scout, he did make it to the rank of “Life” Scout. In the summer of 1961 he was “called out” at Camp Billy Gibbons for induction into The Order of the Arrow and later that summer attended the National Conference the Order of the Arrow held on the campus of the University of Indiana. Finally in his mid-teens, the smell of gasoline, perfume, and high school activities cut his Boy Scout experience short. The lessons learned through the completion of various merit badges, summer camp at Camp Billy Gibbons and the core values of Boy scouts are life experiences and values never forgotten.
Robert enjoyed all types of sports in school, but football was his first love. In the 9th grade there were so many kids out for football that not everyone got to travel to the out of town games. Don Martin and Royce Blackburn were junior high coaches at the time. One week Robert did not make the “traveling Squad” for that week. It made him so mad that he made a promise to himself that he would work so hard that he would never be left home again. He never was. He played football throughout Jr. high and high school. Weighing in at 148 pounds soaking wet, Robert was a starting “quickside” guard on the 1965 State Champion team. That season the team record was 14 wins and no losses. The Lions scored a season total of 315 points against its opponents and had only 43 total points against them. The Lions played Bridge City in a pouring rain storm at Texas A & M’s Kyle Field and won State. The field was so sloppy wet that the referee had to stand at the line of scrimmage with the ball, otherwise it would float away if he put it on the field. Coaches Gordon Wood, Morris Southall, Pete Murry, Kenneth West, Don Martin and Royce Blackburn developed a power house football program that won 7 state championships. More importantly they taught young boys life lessons & how to be men. They taught that good planning, hard work, attention to details, never give up when you are down, and team work will yield success in any of life’s experiences. Robert will be forever indebted to those mentors and the lessons they taught.
After graduating from Brownwood High School in 1966, Robert continued his education at Baylor University. In the spring of his high school senior year he applied and competed for a scholarship sponsored by the Citizens National Bank of Waco. They offered a full four year scholarship to one freshman each year to attend Baylor, pursue a major in the School of Business and work in the bank throughout the four years of undergraduate work. Robert was selected as the fall of 1966 Recipient. That fall as a Baylor freshman he decided to campaign for an office in the freshman class leadership and was elected freshman class vice president. That put him in charge of gathering a group of freshman classmates to build the freshman class homecoming float. The time Robert devoted to that effort almost caused him to “flunk” freshman history. He went to his professor and negotiated for extra work and managed to avoid that embarrassment. He graduated from Baylor with a BBA in Accounting in the spring of 1970.
In Roberts’s senior year at Baylor, the Selective Service System ( Military Draft Board) held its first draft lottery. Robert drew draft lottery #52, which made it a virtual certainty that he would be drafted for the Vietnam War. He decided that he could make the best use of his college degree if he made some plans of his own before the draft board did it for him. He got busy and applied to both the Navy Officer Candidate School and the Texas Air National Guard. He received acceptance letters to both branches of service in the same week. Now he had to decide what to do. As a central Texas boy who had not seen much of the world, he decided to “Join the Navy and see the world.” He started officer candidate school in January 1972 in Newport Rhode Island and received his commission as an Ensign in the US Navy in May 1972. He then went to Athens Georgia for 6 months to Navy Supply School where he received his designation as a Naval Supply Officer. During that time, Robert filled out his “Dream Sheet” for his next duty assignment. His first choice was to be assigned to an aircraft carrier on the West Coast, preferably the San Francisco Bay Area. He got it! He received orders to report to Hunters Point Naval Shipyard as a Supply Officer aboard the U.S.S. Hancock. Over the next 2 ½ years Robert made two West Pacific (Westpac) cruises to Vietnam, the Philippines, Japan, Hong Kong and the Indian Ocean. The second cruise in 1975 was for the sole purpose of evacuating refugees from Vietnam. That happened in May 1975 with “Operation Eagle Pull” The U.S.S. Hancock received 2,000 refugees which were housed on blankets on the hangar bay floor. Feeding 3,500 regular ships crew plus 2,000 refugees was a “round the clock” operation. The refugees were eventually transferred to Guam and ultimately to the US for their new life in America.
After being honorably discharged from the Navy as an LTJG in May 1975, Robert returned to Texas with his new wife, Jeanne. Robert met Jeanne while at Officer Candidate School In Newport, Rhode Island and they were married two years later in September 1974. Robert had a job offer to go back to Waco and go to work for Citizens National bank. He also had a job offer to join his father Gene Porter in the family business at Porter Insurance Agency. He chose to join his father in business. Robert’s brother Richard joined the business two years later in 1977. Together they enjoyed 28 years in business with their father before he passed away in October 2002. “We were truly blessed to have been mentored by a father who was a fine Christian Business man and also by a strong Christian mother,” said Robert and Richard. Robert and Richard have been business partners for over 40 years.
Through the last 40 plus years in business Robert has enjoyed being an active part of the Brownwood Community that included service and leadership in many different organizations such as: President of Brownwood Chamber of Commerce, President of Brownwood Industrial Foundation, President of Brownwood Economic Development Incorporation, President Brownwood, Community Cultural Affairs Commission (Arts Council), Chairman of the Board of Brownwood Regional Medical Center. Board member of Howard Payne University Douglas Mcauther Academy of Freedom for 20 + years, treasurer of Aldersgate Enrichment Center since 1995, First United Methodist Church (Administrative Council Chair, Finance Chair, Personal Committee Chair, Treasurer), and County Chairman of the Brown County Republican Party since Nov. 2015. Robert was Recipient of the Brownwood Chamber of Commerce Man of the year award in 1995, and the Brownwood Chamber of Commerce “Groner Pitts Life Time of Service” award in 2015.
Robert’s first wife of 30 years, Jeanne, passed away in 2005. Almost 1 year later he was introduced by Brad and Ginger Locker to his blind date, Sally Blanton Stapp. They danced the night away at the Old Jail Art Museum’s 25th Gala celebration in Albany, Texas. Robert was amazed at how much they had in common and what a perfect match they were. He was knocked totally off his feet, but he soon managed to regain his composure. Seven Months later they were married. Along with a new Wife, Robert became an instant stepfather and grandfather to twin grandkids Amelia & Alexander who were 3 ½ when they met Robert. Robert and Sally celebrated 11 wonderful years of marriage this past June 2017. What a Blessing! In fact Robert has been Blessed throughout his life with strong Christian parents, numerous business and personal mentors, his loving and supportive wife Sally and many others. Above all Robert gives all the credit, praise, honor and glory to his Risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
