Porter John Martin

Do all the good you can
By all the means you can
In all the ways you can
At all the times you can
In all the places you can
To all the people you can
As long as ever you can
– John Wesley

Porter John Martin of Traverse City, Michigan, formerly of Shabbona, Illinois, passed away Monday, December 5, 2022, from complications related to MDS after doing all the good he could for as long as ever he could.

Born to John D. and Marie C. (Seiwert) Martin on January 10, 1938, in Morris, Illinois, Porter grew up in Watseka, Illinois, the eldest of three sons. After high school, he joined the Marine Corps Reserves for eight years. He entered Iowa State University following basic training and subsequently transferred to the University of Illinois, graduating in 1961 with a degree in agriculture education. He taught ag at Shabbona High School and finished a master's degree in education administration at the University of Illinois, Chicago.

Porter worked for the University of Illinois Cooperative Extension Service in DeKalb County for several years before joining the 4th Street Bank in DeKalb as a loan officer. Next he worked for the United States Department of Agriculture in rural development before founding Martin, Goodrich, & Associates with Jack Goodrich, specializing in the acquisition and sale of farm and ranch land for clients. During that time, Porter was designated Land Realtor of America by the Realtors Land Institute of the National Association of Realtors.

In DeKalb County, Porter helped establish Kishwaukee Community College near Malta, giving more than 100 talks to groups of citizens to garner support for the project. He also was instrumental in establishing Shabbona Lake State Park and was declared one of its six Founding Fathers. In addition to supporting his local church, he often filled empty pulpits in the area on Sunday mornings.

Porter was a member of the Illinois Agricultural Leadership Foundation Board of Directors for many years and also the Chicago Farmers, which he served as president for two years. At the time of his passing, he was a member of the Illinois chapter of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers as well as a member of the board of the American Stewards of Liberty. He was also a five-decade member of the DeKalb County Farm Bureau and a member of Old Mission Congregational Church.

Porter lived a full life. At age seven, he developed a life-threatening anemia. The cure, said the doctor, was to spend the entire year outdoors in as much sunshine as possible. To keep him and his younger brothers company, his parents gave the boys a dog named Trouble and a pony named Mayfair. The dye was forever cast. Porter became an outdoor enthusiast second to none. After that glorious year of freedom, it was hard to abide by the school bell. Porter was known to hang a brace of pheasants at a teacher's front door to explain his absence from school. A standout athlete, he played sports in all seasons and was captain of his high school basketball team.

In 1960, Porter married Sharon Lee (Cassell) Martin of Watseka. The couple raised their four children in Shabbona, Illinois, where Porter cultivated roses, raspberries, rhubarb, grapes, asparagus, and more than 150 varieties of antique apples on the family's 19-acre property. Among his greatest pleasures was swinging with Sherrie on the screened-in porch with coffee in hand, watching squirrels, pheasants, deer, fox, raccoons, and a variety of birds in the oak savannah and remnant mesic prairie south of the home they built. Not surprisingly, Porter was an avid collector of wildlife art.

He stocked the family's spring-fed pond with bluegill, bass, and catfish and welcomed one and all to fish and swim. He taught his children to shoot trap, clean a kennel, pick up sticks, ride a horse, harness up and drive a buggy or one-horse open sleigh, and work hard even when bone tired. His "ten-minute jobs" were legendary, as was his garage, replete with pegboard and laminated diagrams of where every tool should hang. A well-read and endlessly curious man, he closely followed sports teams and politics as well as his family's activities.

A consummate hunter and fisherman, Porter handled a shotgun, rifle, bow, and rod with ease and expertise and took great joy in teaching his grandchildren to hunt and fish. From the farm fields and fence rows of Illinois to the turkey woods of Wisconsin to the coverts of northern Michigan, from the one-acre pond in Shabbona to gleaming northern Michigan trout streams to glorious East Grand Traverse Bay, his children and grandchildren cherish memories of time spent afield, in the blind, or on the water with Papa. He bred German shorthaired pointers and English setters and was no doubt welcomed into heaven by Rip, Princess, Butch, Pepper, Patty, Bunny, Chessie, Candy, and many other beloved dogs as well as Tuff Sheik, the family's palomino gelding, many Mayfairs, and a slew of cats.

A deeply generous man, Porter demonstrated on a daily basis the importance of values, faith, and service. He cherished both new and lifelong friendships with individuals from every walk of life, and he had a well-known, albeit good-natured, ornery streak. In his youth, he pulled many a prank on his friends and brothers. As an adult, he excelled at teasing Sherrie, their kids, and grandkids. He enjoyed business trips with Sherrie to Venice, Vienna, Hamburg, London, and beyond, but the greatest adventures occurred in Wyoming and the Grand Tetons while visiting daughter Brenda and her family.

Porter taught every member of his family, "If you take care of your things, they'll take care of you." Other favorite expressions were "A place for everything and everything in its place," "It looks like someone cares," and "There's a right way to do things and a wrong way to do things. If you do it right the first time, you won't have to do it again." From watching and talking sports with him, his grandkids learned a great deal about winning, losing, and trying their best from this unrivaled good sport. Deeply appreciative of his wife's cooking, particularly her pies, he never failed to take that first bite, sigh, and say, "Sharon, if I'm not mistaken, this is the single best piece of pie I've ever eaten."

Porter spent his first summer on East Bay in 1944, when he was six years old. Moving to Traverse City in 2013 was a dream come true, as was spending time at the family's cottage on East Bay.

Porter is survived by his beloved wife of sixty-two years and their children: Melissa (Robert) Fousek, Brenda Reints, Rebecca (Glen) Chown, and Porter (Carren) Martin. His grandchildren are Jake and Suzanne Fousek; Raegan (Tom Labenski), Will, and Luke (Paige) Reints; William, Martin, and Leonard Chown; PJ and Ry Martin; and his new great-granddaughter, Lilian Kate Reints. Porter is survived also by his youngest brother, R. Paul (Sharon) Martin, of Normal, Illinois, and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Dr. John D. Martin.

There will be a visitation from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, December 28, at First Congregational Church, 6105 Center Road, Traverse City. The funeral celebration will begin at 11:00 a.m., followed by a luncheon at the church.

Porter's family would like to thank the extraordinary team of caregivers at the Cowall Family Cancer Center for their superb care of Porter since September of 2013. He eagerly anticipated Wednesday afternoons at Cowall and made many friends there. We also thank Munson Medical Center personnel for their compassionate care of Porter and his family in his final days. A man of deep faith, having experienced God's grace, Porter was ready to be in His care.

Those wishing to offer expressions of sympathy are encouraged to make a memorial contribution to PheasantsForever.org, the MDS-Foundation.org, or GTRLC.org.